A few months ago I started a training program to enable me to run. My wife and I enjoy the outdoors and do a great deal of walking and hiking. I had begun to notice that when we were walking the greenway near our home I would get this desire to just take off and run like when I was a kid. So I began to gradually train to run greater distances.
There is joy for me in running. I try to run a minimum of 3 or 4 times a week and average about 10 miles a week running. I enjoy the exercise, the quiet time, the being in the outdoors, and the effort it takes to be consistent.
Occasionally, like today, when I run I have days where my legs feel as if they are made of lead. Those are the days that I have to force myself to keep moving to finish the run I had planned. On these days the joy is not in the journey, but the journey ends in the joy of accomplishing the run. The joy of being accountable to my goal of a healthy lifestyle.
For me whether the joy comes during the run or when the run is completed, the result is still joy.
Spiritually I find a parallel situation. Some days the run of life is joy, other days just finishing the day is joy. but the end result is still joy. Thank you Father God.
Question: Where do you find your joy?
PS: The photo is my grandson, not me.
