Run (your name), Run!

I tried to find a "catchy" title about running but my mind is a blank...lol
Yesterday, I went running and as always, it felt great. I am amazed at the detoxification that's done from running or walking at a fast pace.
I haven't been following the suggestions that I put on top of the blog because I didn't find it challenging enough. Once I saw I could run the whole distance, I decided to just keep it up and build up my endurance.
When I went running yesterday, I saw something that scared me but the thought of sharing what I saw made me laugh. Here is the scenario in sequence.
I'm warming up with a brisk walk. "It's hard to walk today (yesterday), the snow/rain that fell made the roads slushy, it's like walking in sand. Hmmm where could I walk? In the tire track or should I walk here, on the side of the road where there is just snow? Well, look at that! I just crossed over a trail of fresh deer or moose tracks....sigh..."
Now you can say you've seen inside my mind... lol. Yes, this is how I talk to myself, that's what I sound like... lol
Ya.. so I was a little freaked out when I saw that and was very quickly reminded that I had not prayed for the Lord to protect me, needless to say, I jumped into that mode in no time.
BUT TODAY! I was bringing MJ to come walking with me. I did not need to be afraid. Slim, tiny, timid MJ came for a run with me. When we almost arrived back home, I chuckled to myself thinking, I'm not sure who I would be safer with, Samuel or MJ.
Anyway, I ran a little faster and thought I would put a bit more resistance in my workout, and MJ was all for it. This is the game we played... ok, she played, I resisted. Every time a car would come by, which was more frequently as we got closer to 6:30am, MJ would get scared and want to run through the ditch and into the field... so I resisted... hence tug of war was added to my cardio workout because it was not challenging enough it seemed. :/ LOL
I say that with a tone of comic because that's how my mind is when it comes to unusual events in my life, it keeps me laughing which I LOVE to do.
So, that was my running experiences for yesterday and today. Tomorrow, I plan to bring MJ along again since it's good for her and I DID feel a little safer, maybe it's because I was running faster.
In my devotions today, I was reading in Proverbs 15 and Jeremiah chapter 23 and 24. I noticed that in Jeremiah, we read much about how God is not impressed with the prophets who lead His people astray, saying, "God has said..." The Lord talks a lot about how He will "take care" of the wicked which has led my thought in the direction, which is incorrect, of why is He not "taking care" of the wicked in today's day and age. Why are there people who hate God, deny their family of time and affection for the love of trips and toys and that they seem to have it all? I know that they don't but our flesh will sometimes look at others and wonder why is my hard working husband who is growing in the Lord and serving God not getting a break and they are? Or maybe we focus on why not me?
There are so many answers, that we can find in the bible for those questions and I found another one today in Jeremiah 24. You would need to read the whole chapter to get everything in context. It is a short chapter. Basically, God takes something Jeremiah is noticing and using it for an illustration to help Jeremiah to understand what is going to happen. God says that He will," I acknowledge them that are carried away captive of Judah, whom I have sent out of this place into the land of the Chaldeans for [their] good. For I will set mine eyes upon them for good, and I will bring them again to this land: and I will build them, and not pull [them] down; and I will plant them, and not pluck [them] up."
These people, who served God, were being brought captive by King Nebuchadnezzar into another country to be slaves, yet God is going to use this for good in their life.
Sometimes, we think we have it rough, like running in the slush, but we don't see where this part of life is bringing us. We think we are captive and fell enslaved by a trial but in reality, if you are right with God and He is not trying to get your attention because you have turned your back on Him, He is using this for good.
My running in the slush, made me have to work harder, my feet were wet and cold but I can feel a difference in my thighs today and the firming up it has done. "Playing" tug of war with MJ this morning when a car drove by will help build her trust in me and perhaps do something I can't see yet.
Having a relationship with God, that is being fed with having communion with God, spending time talking and listening to Him and reading His Word, is one that is compare to a hiding place or a refuge. When you don't understand the trials of life, instead of "murmuring and disputing", we can just trust in our Lord to guide us, teach us and to draw strength from.
This is what makes a relationship with God become so sweet.
How appropriately is Jeremiah 24:7 (we can count on Him 24/7), "And I will give them an heart to know me, that I [am] the LORD: and they shall be my people, and I will be their God: for they shall return unto me with their whole heart."
That is the purpose and it is repeated over and over again in the bible like in Romans 8:28-29, "And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to [his] purpose. For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate [to be] conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren."
Run the race, don't get sluggish.