Today I went to the gym for the first time in... well, too long. And as I was running on the treadmill, it kept malfunctioning. I would be running for about 3 minutes and then all of a sudden it would power down to walking speed, forcing me to slow down and walk.
Immediately I, being the strange person that I am, thought to myself "there is an analogy in here somewhere!" and began pondering what it could be...
I know what you're thinking right now if you're reading this (that is, if anyone is reading this): If only you could have been there to say to me, "Nina, this is simply an everyday bump-in-the-road random occurance and there is no life lesson to be drawn so get over yourself and move to the elliptical."
In response, I'm sorry- I'm going to milk this for all that it's worth and try to draw some sort of parallel. At the very least I can use the idea of a treadmill in general. So here goes:
Treadmills are the very incarnation of counterproductivity. I mean, you could be going 10 miles per hour or only 2, but either way you're not getting anywhere. When you stop, you're still in the same place- that isolated corner of the gym below the TV airing some afternoon talkshow with an obscure guest, or some infomercial for an airbrushed skin enhancement kit.
So why do we subject ourselves to this? Do we want to be like hamsters on a wheel? Not just in the sense of physically wearing ourselves out, but in the sense of not getting anywhere.
I think we all have a treadmill or two in our lives. It's that thing that we devote so much energy to just for self improvement or a similar end. It's something that has us focused so hard on catching up that we forget to question what it is we're chasing. Foolishly we end up competing with a strip of vinyl beneath our feet that always seems to be one foot ahead of us. And sadly, most of us won't stop until we, somewhat literally, fall off. Yet it's not very reasonable to expect ourselves to keep up with a machine in the first place, now is it?
Wouldn't it be wonderful if we could all step down from our treadmills? I know I need to resign from mine. God's been telling me to slow down and it's not because He thinks I'm a poor runner; He wants me to GO, of that I'm certain. But in order to go, I first have to stop. I need to power down, withdraw my energy from the things that are not fruitful for His Kingdom, and transfer it to the things that are. I think sometimes we forget that there is more than one transaction that needs to take place.
Right now I'm looking forward to stepping down, and the freedom that it will bring. Instead of staring out the window from my treadmill, I will break through the doors and run outside, feeling my feet hit the pavement, the dirt, the leaves, the grass, the snow.
May we all proceed to run the race with purpose in every step. May we all begin covering ground.
Do you not know that in a race all the runners run but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly. (1 Corinthians 9:24-25)
Immediately I, being the strange person that I am, thought to myself "there is an analogy in here somewhere!" and began pondering what it could be...
I know what you're thinking right now if you're reading this (that is, if anyone is reading this): If only you could have been there to say to me, "Nina, this is simply an everyday bump-in-the-road random occurance and there is no life lesson to be drawn so get over yourself and move to the elliptical."
In response, I'm sorry- I'm going to milk this for all that it's worth and try to draw some sort of parallel. At the very least I can use the idea of a treadmill in general. So here goes:
Treadmills are the very incarnation of counterproductivity. I mean, you could be going 10 miles per hour or only 2, but either way you're not getting anywhere. When you stop, you're still in the same place- that isolated corner of the gym below the TV airing some afternoon talkshow with an obscure guest, or some infomercial for an airbrushed skin enhancement kit.
So why do we subject ourselves to this? Do we want to be like hamsters on a wheel? Not just in the sense of physically wearing ourselves out, but in the sense of not getting anywhere.
I think we all have a treadmill or two in our lives. It's that thing that we devote so much energy to just for self improvement or a similar end. It's something that has us focused so hard on catching up that we forget to question what it is we're chasing. Foolishly we end up competing with a strip of vinyl beneath our feet that always seems to be one foot ahead of us. And sadly, most of us won't stop until we, somewhat literally, fall off. Yet it's not very reasonable to expect ourselves to keep up with a machine in the first place, now is it?
Wouldn't it be wonderful if we could all step down from our treadmills? I know I need to resign from mine. God's been telling me to slow down and it's not because He thinks I'm a poor runner; He wants me to GO, of that I'm certain. But in order to go, I first have to stop. I need to power down, withdraw my energy from the things that are not fruitful for His Kingdom, and transfer it to the things that are. I think sometimes we forget that there is more than one transaction that needs to take place.
Right now I'm looking forward to stepping down, and the freedom that it will bring. Instead of staring out the window from my treadmill, I will break through the doors and run outside, feeling my feet hit the pavement, the dirt, the leaves, the grass, the snow.
May we all proceed to run the race with purpose in every step. May we all begin covering ground.
Do you not know that in a race all the runners run but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly. (1 Corinthians 9:24-25)
No comments:
Post a Comment