Sharks, Clowns, The Dentist, and Running…

Fear – noun; a distressing emotion aroused by impending danger, evil, pain, etc., whether the threat is real or imagined; the feeling or condition of being afraid.  verb; to have reverential awe of

Fear, what an interesting concept and emotion. The definitions above are only two of the ways that dictionary describes fear.  I am interested to hear your definition of fear.  Do you relate to either one of these two definitions or is yours something completely different?

I believe that there are many things to be afraid of in this world, for instance, sharks, clowns, that weird sucky thing at the dentist office, you know the one that sick too far in your mouth and leave it hanging there as it attacks the inside of your cheeks all the while making that shrrrrrrrr ek shrrrrrrrrr sound. Anyway I am not here to make light of those types of fears, but only to present what is becoming my new definition of fear.

The last few mornings I am done something that if you know me, at least in my present state, is very unlike me.  I have been running.  I have been know to say that I hate running with all of my life.  Sorry all you runners out there.  I have always equated running with punishment, “Sawyer! Go run until practice is over or until you puke!” or something that your Freshman P.E. teacher would have you do because they had gone out the night before and needed fall back on their ace in the whole. It’s athletic. It takes up the whole hour, and I don’t have to do anything. Come on you P.E. teachers out there, even the most honorable out there know that there is a little bit of truth to that statement.  This morning I equated running with something that I never thought I would, fear. I woke up finding myself afraid of the run I was going on. I wasn’t afraid that I was going to get attacked by a rabid Dachshund or mobbed by the ladies that walk in large hunting parties, I was afraid that I would not be able to finish the route that was planned.  I realized that I feel like this everyday, whether I am running or not. Fear has become a shackle, something that was stopping me from living the life that God had planned for me. With running everyday I wake up afraid of the challenge , afraid of what I will have to go through, but on the days that I complete my run I can see that my day is better for it. I am more alert, less emotional, and overall have a brighter outlook. I think that is what God is asking of us. To get up and run. To put one foot in front of the other and complete what has been put before us.  When we do that our life looks different.  The greatest thing is that no matter what fear lurks out there there is a God that has conquered them all. He knows our path and all we have to do is follow it and complete it.