“Keep your heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.”
Proverbs 4:23
It was that Mother’s Day post that got me thinking. Not the post I wrote, but rather, the one my youngest posted on her Instagram story. Of course, I was honored—but the picture. Let’s be frank. That picture is not flattering.
Which led to some enlightening messages-
Ah, the 5K. The one and only 5K I ever participated in.
“Running for heart and with you and across the DVP. Pretty special.”
The DVP.
You know that saying, “One man’s junk is another man’s treasure”? Apparently, the connector expressway that runs through Toronto is special to my daughter. Me? Not so much.
The Don Valley Parkway (DVP) carries an average of 135,000 cars daily. Once a year, barring COVID, the DVP and the linking Gardiner expressway get shut down to host the Manulife Ride & Walk for Heart. A race that raises over a million dollars each year to help fund heart and stroke research.
Now to be clear, Toronto is an absolutely magnificent city. And I’m not just saying that because I am partial to it. Visit Toronto just once, and you will agree.
But I’d rather run along the ocean. Not saying I could. However, should I actually have the capacity to run and given the choice of output location, I would choose the ocean not a highway.
In case, you haven’t figured it out, I hate running. A fact that was firmly cemented in my mind when I participated in the said 5K. Which begs the question, “Then why would you enter?”
It went like this. Both of my girls are runners raising runners. My granddaughter Aimee, almost thirteen at the time, was going to be competing in her first 5K. And, wouldn’t it be fun for me to surprise her by meeting up and joining the run?
So, I prepared.
Prepare being a relative term here.
First off, I paid the money to register and bought new shoes. Because new shoes help everything. Digging through my closet, I found what I deemed as appropriate running shorts and a red tee-shirt (Aimee’s favorite color) that said, “Live love.”
As you can see, I was off to an excellent start.
Next came the training.
It is of my expert opinion that all training should take place in an air-conditioned environment. It makes absolutely no sense to me that, when given the option of whether or not to sweat, one would actually choose to get sweaty.
Hence, for the most part, training took place in my living room,
on a mini-trampoline,
with the air-conditioner running full blast.
Of course, I’m not entirely inept.
I did do a couple of “runs” outside,
Once was even with a friend who is an official runner.
A very nice, patient, and tactful friend who never once mentioned the possibility that I may want to up my “training.”
The race approached quickly, and being an overall optimistically deluded person, I found myself driving to Toronto.
Where I surprised Aimee and my youngest daughter, otherwise known as Cab. Allison (my eldest), who adamantly dislikes surprises, was informed well ahead of time.
Together we got in line with the vast crowd of other participants. Come to find out, Aimee was more interested in seeing how fast she could run than staying with her gramma. No surprise there and no offense taken. So, Cab graciously stayed with me while Aimee and Al took off running.
A little side note here: I was very adamant about choosing names for our daughters that could not be mistaken for boy’s names or shortened to something that wouldn’t hold any weight as they matured.
Let’s just add that intention to the very long (and getting longer) list of “Things Melissa thought she could control.”
Although, I suppose one could say that a Cab does hold weight.
Anyway, it was very kind of my long-legged daughter to stick with me the entire time. Admittedly, it was awkward and a little embarrassing doing the walk-run-walk thing, as others whipped by. And yet, all things considered, it was better than having a heart attack on the hot asphalt.
I don’t remember my overall time, but I was definitely closer to the back of the pack than the front. It’s also safe to say that, as far as my time went, I didn’t really care. However, I did hate that I might have been a frustration to my running companion.
Fact: for five years, I have thought of that race with a trace of chagrin. It bothered me to have held her back. The paradox is that she has looked back on that race with fondness.
Because we were there—running together.
I entered that race because I love Aimee, and I valued her enough to drive nearly 500 miles to participate in her first 5K. Christi-An (aka Cab) stayed with me during the race because she loves me and valued me enough to help me finish the race.
We do what we do because we value what we love.
And sometimes, what we say we love and what our lives show we value conflict with each other.
Let me be personal. I can’t even begin to list the times that I have valued trying to do something perfectly more than I loved those I was working with.
Or a clean house more than a relaxed atmosphere with those I profess to love.
And, how about those inner eye-rolling moments when my quest to keep a schedule to help people keeps getting interrupted by (gulp) people.
We are just beginning to come out of a world turned upside-down. Standing on the threshold of our freedom, we have the opportunity to ask ourselves some extremely meaningful questions like—
Do we really need to run as fast as we did before the big P?
Is catching up and getting back to “normal” more important than slowing down and helping those who are struggling?
Will our actions show that we love and value community and church—or did we actually just not like being told that we couldn’t meet together?
Because the truth is, in many ways, this pandemic has fed into the heart of self-protection, isolation, and maybe just a bit of laziness.
Or maybe I’m the only one who enjoyed sitting in my comfy chair, clad in robe, coffee cup in hand while attending church.
But the body of Christ is corporate, not singular.
Al ran with Aimee, and Cab ran with me, together at the pace that encouraged each other.
And you and me? We need spiritual running partners, too. The flesh and blood kind-
to cheer us on when we’re doing good, keep us going when we’re not,
and be there to lift our hands when we finish the race.
Because, try as we might, there’s just no getting ’round it,
we run best when we run together.
Very well said. The training is important and much needed. Spiritually we need to be running every day.
We sure do, Ron! And sometimes, we forget, as Christians, how very vital our teamwork is to each other. Thanks for taking time to read and comment!
Love it! Keep running (whatever your version of it is 🙂 ) and roaring.
Thank you, Jerrie! I shall, by God’s grace, keep moving along one way or the other :).
Our oldest daughter Sandy will be running her 4th Boston Marathon in the fall. Jerry and I had the opportunity to go and cheer her on at one run, and loved every minute of it. It’s amazing the dedication and determination these runners have. Both of our girls are runners. They speak of the fellowship, friendships and the stress reliever that running provides. I’m sure they would love to run in Toronto.
Wow! The Boston Marathon–my girls would have great appreciation and admiration for Sandy. And, yes, isn’t teamwork so very important in every area of our lives? Thank you for sharing this, Judy.