Being Different

Saturday I ran for the first time in months. This was no short run for me either, I ran a solid 2 miles without stopping or even once wanting to stop. Some of you running enthusiasts might be laughing at me right now, but this was huge for me. You see I tried to start running again back in January and it was HARD! I could barely run a quarter of a mile without wanting to stop. Saturday was different. My life was different.

You see, while physically it would be easy to attribute the run to the last month I have spent walking at an incline and now my endurance is just built up, I believe it was all because of where my mind was. I didn't start that run on Saturday morning for the health of it or even for the attempt of slimming the body down. Saturday I was running because it was beautiful outside, I was up early, and I wanted to spend some time outside praising God for what He created. My mind was different.

As I started step one of that run I had every intention of slowing back down to a walk in a short 200-300 yards, but then that passed and then another hundred yards and before I knew it 1 mile was down and I wasn't ready to stop. I was smiling and singing out loud when I knew I was far enough from other pedestrians to not be heard. My body was filled with joy and that is what was carrying me through the run. That is when it hit me. My heart was different.

The last few weeks have felt easier. It has been easier to get through life. It has been easier to be kind to people. I haven't spent much energy on worry or stress. I haven't fought that much with Zeb and joy has pretty much surrounded everything I do. So when I thought about why or how, only one thing came to my mind. My entire existence has been focused on my Creator. I have been so engaged through prayer and reading that I have just been different. My burdens feel lighter, my stress is virtually non-existent, and my heart is so filled with His love that it is overflowing in my body. My heart is different, my mind is different, and my life is different.

Today, on my birthday, it is different. My 24th birthday is unlike any birthday I have ever experienced. Today I am so thankful for my life. I feel so blessed to have the family and friends that I have in my life. Today I don't want it to be about me at all, but about the One who created me, the pair that have raised me, and the many others in my life who have helped to make me who I am today.

"that my heart may sing your praises and not be silent. Lord, my God, I will praise you forever!"-Psalm 30:12