It’s 4am and I am wide awake. I don’t know why. I’ve prayed, I’ve had my coffee. And so now I’ll write.

If you’ve been reading for awhile, you know I am a tad bit obsessed with the late George Sheehan. Physician, writer, arm chair philosopher and runner. I don’t know if it’s because so much of the way he looks at life and running mirrors my own views or just because he has this comforting way of putting words on paper that lifts my spirits, but his book Running and Being has become an almost daily “go to” for me. I came across this quote this morning:

“There are those of us who are always about to live. We are waiting until things change, until there is more time, until we are less tired, until we get a promotion, until we settle down / until, until, until. It always seems as if there is some major event that must occur in our lives before we begin living.”

So my question for you on this very early Monday morning is just this: what are you waiting for to live?

It’s more a life question than a running one, I suppose. But running might be a good place to start. What are you afraid of? Where are you holding back, or not committing, or not starting because you think you might not succeed? Where are you letting other people’s expectations and demands and judgements stop you from moving forward and going for what you know is the next best step for you?

You read these amazing stories of courage – runners who have overcome seemingly insurmountable odds to do what they do. But we all have some area in our lives where we are being called to be courageous. To take a chance. To live.

So this morning, as I start this day (oh so early in the morning) I’m asking myself this question, too. And I’m asking God to give me the faith, the strength, the wisdom and the people around me to show me where he’s asking me to take a chance.

I’ll leave you today with a familiar prayer that is prayed daily all over the world. It lightens my load and comforts my heart.

Lord God, almighty and everlasting Father, you have brought me in safety to this new day: Preserve me with your mighty power, that I may not fall into sin, nor be overcome by adversity: and in all I do direct me to the fulfilling of your purpose; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Happy Running. And living. Oh, and here’s a video that might help you. Bishop Elias Taban spoke at and prayed for our church yesterday. His story is remarkable and inspiring but more than that, it is joyful! I hope it will inspire you as much as it did me to bloom where you are planted.

Jen