Captain Obvious

It rained steadily while I ran 13 miles this morning. I didn't mind because it cooled me off even as the day got warmer. But after several miles of rain and sweat and car-spray and buggy-spray I was soaked. Around mile 11 a man on a bicycle rode up next to me. He looked me over and said, "Yer goin' to get wet." Captain Obvious strikes again. Ok, he was kidding me. I smiled and said "I'm already wet."
Sometimes we're all wet. We make a poor choice. We are just wrong. We sin. We still need help. That's what grace is: even when we're all wet, we are still taken in, and dried off and helped and given a new start. I sense that RETA is a gracious place.
So after running long and hard and getting wet I'm going to take a shower. And then dry off.
I hope Captain Obvious didn't get too wet himself.

Lost

I ran a 5K race in a senior games competition this morning. Yep, I'm a senior, at least by their rules. It was a trail course, mostly through the woods between the Goshen Millrace and the Elkhart River. The course was confusing because of all the repeated loops and intersections of trails that weren't always clearly marked. At one T intersection I came to a dead stop trying to figure out whether to turn left or right until I saw another runner, Paula, off to the left. Near the end of the race I came to a stop again, unsure whether I was supposed to keep running down a paved road or turn onto a dirt trail loop. Fortunately the front runner, Roland, was coming out of the loop and pointed the way. I made it to the finish line, just ahead of a swarm of mosquitos. My fellow runners helped me out today. Otherwise I might still be lost in the woods. They pointed the way when I literally didn't know which way to turn. I suspect that's the way it is when RETA volunteers help the moms and dads who come to RETA for help. Sometimes we need someone to show us the best way to turn, so we don't get lost. Maybe you can volunteer for RETA. You can check them out at www.retaforlife.com.

Wonderfully Made

I ran 13 miles for my long run yesterday. It was a hot and hard run. My water bottle ran dry around mile 9. I was glad for the water fountain in the park. I'm finding it difficult to get in a long run in when it is both cool and daylight.
I have been reading an article about muscle tissue in a running magazine. We have three kinds of muscle in our bodies: cardiac muscle (to run our hearts); smooth muscle (to run our involuntary functions like digestion); and skeletal muscle (to make our bodies move). And we have three types of skeletal muscle: slow-twitch; intermediate fast-twitch; and fast twitch. The different types of skeletal muscles can be used for different speeds of running. The best runners develop their muscles so they draw on them in the most efficient manner to run faster and longer. That's why they are elite runners. As David said in Psalm 139, our bodies are truly "fearfully and wonderfully made." Today, my muscles are reminding me I ran a long hard distance yesterday.
In Psalm 139, David also wrote about how God "knit me together in my mother's womb." One of the programs of the RETA ministry is Pregnancy Help Services. RETA can help direct a pregnant woman to material and medical assistance, as well as dealing with the emotional aspects of pregnancy. You can read more about it at www.retaforlife.com