The sky was brilliant and the birds were singing. I stepped out into the brisk air for my early morning jog yesterday. Now don’t be too impressed. If you saw me jogging toward you on any given morning, you would probably dive behind a bush to avoid me.
All fashion sense is forgotten when I put on my jogging clothes. 
Yesterday I wore black nylon shorts, and a tank top. My shorty socks hid under my jogging clodhoppers. I clipped my hair up in this funky grabber clip. It doesn’t hang nicely down my back like other joggers out on the path. No, it pokes straight up out of the clip. I resemble a rooster with an attitude while running down the street as it bobs up and down. Then there are the white legs. I shudder to think about any poor pedestrian who I might pass and is not wearing sunglasses.
When I jog I take along my iPod and yesterday was no exception.
Let me be clear….. I hate to exercise but I hate how I feel even more when I don’t. Therefore, I trudge out most mornings, listen to praise music and pray. Amazing experiences with the Lord often occur while out jogging.
I was nearing the last stretch in my 45-minute run. Running uphill toward my neighborhood, the sweat is dripping into my eyes. The expression, feel the burn, took on new meaning. My eyes stung and my face was on fire. I always turn this weird strawberry red when I run. I am able to keep myself going by envisioning the scene from Face the Giants where the coach says to one of his players, “Give me your very best.”
I love that scene. I can just hear God saying that to me.
Off track, sorry…..
Yesterday, I approached the busiest intersection near our home. Now I am dripping wet, panting like a dog and I look like a red-faced rooster bobbing along the roadside.
I am always leery when approaching this intersection. This four-way stop frightens me when I am safely ensconced in a car but running into the middle of it freaks me out. But I am beyond tired so onward I plod. I can see cars approach from all directions and slow to stop. In front of me is a blue sedan. She is waiting for the car to pass from the opposite direction. I can clearly see she is stopped so I jog into the crosswalk.
Out of my peripheral vision the blue car started to ease forward. I stood directly in front of her. My first thought was, What is this joker doing? But the car kept moving. I moved faster but not fast enough. The car was practically upon me and I reached out my hand to ready myself to jump on the hood. I guess my gut reaction was to jump on the car. I felt the car under my hand and then….. The car screeched to an abrupt halt. I scooted to the side of the vehicle then fear gripped me and I was frozen for a second. I just stood there taking in what almost happened. I was almost hit by a car.
Frozen in my tracks, I could only stare at the driver. The poor girl was mouthing the words, “I am so sorry.” I could see she was as frightened as I was. She was fumbling around looking for the window control to release her window to talk to me. It was obvious she hadn’t seen me.
At this precise moment I return from the vision of my life flashing before my eyes and all traffic has come to a complete halt. There are at least a dozen motorists gaping at me, the red rooster, dripping in sweat, frozen in the middle of the crosswalk. I quickly recover knowing I look like an idiot standing out there. I run out of the intersection leaving the poor frightened driver still struggling with the window lock.
On the last leg home I start thinking about this car encounter and how it happened so fast, just a single second of time. But what an impact this tiny second has had on my thinking since then. I haven’t faced a situation where I could have died, well at least not like this. My life could have changed on a dime. Injury or death was a possibility.
Two things have been on my mind since then. One. The Lord isn’t finished with me yet. Hallelujah! Those poor angels that run with this rooster girl every morning were there yesterday and protected me.
Two. I asked myself and the Lord these questions: If I had died yesterday, would my daughter remain in her faith for the rest of her life? Have I shared enough with my husband?
You know what? The Holy Spirit then impressed me with these thoughts. “Lynn, you have. All I have ever asked is that you love me with all of your heart, soul, mind, and strength.”
I do Lord. I do.
Mark 12:30
Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’
Have a wonderful weekend and never doubt your faith is planting seeds and angels are always nearby. Be Blessed, Lynn
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