I had a great plan for the running season. Last year I wanted to hit 10K and I didn't make it. This year I made that distance in April. April. So I set my sights on a half marathon by fall. I found a series of races – A 10K in August, a 15K in September and a half-marathon in October. Perfect.
Then knee pain hit and everything unraveled. I got really discouraged. (I'm a goal-oriented type and scrapping my race plans was a major failure.) I couldn't run three-quarters of a mile without serious pain. I had trouble walking without pain. And steps? Forget it.
I took two weeks off – it still hurt. I got a knee brace – it still hurt. I iced and wrapped and stretched… it still hurt. It was decision time. Work through pain and keep running OR decide running wasn't my thing after all.
I decided to run. Somehow or other.
I consulted with Jay. He gave me a set of exercises and an admonition to run on the track. So I did. Running a half mile, stretching, walking, running another half mile. Two miles, then two and a half, then running a mile at a time. Little by little. I'm back up to three miles. Next week we'll try running on consecutive days.
So what does my whining have to do with anything?
Hebrews 12:12-13 says "Therefore, strengthen the hands that are weak and the knees that are feeble, and make straight paths for your feet, so that the limb which is lame may not be put out of joint, but rather be healed."
Running the race God sets before us is not always easy and sometimes we encounter pain and difficulty. It could be anything from opposition and conflict to church politics to failures to … you name it. When something like that happens, we don't stop running altogether but we do need to take care of ourselves. How do we do that?
I had to leave my schedule and plan, and go back to the basics. Sometimes when we serve Christ, we get so busy ministering, we lose sight of the One we're trying to serve. We get ideas, we jump into to programs, we go ninety miles an hour, nonstop. Until we get hurt. Discouraged. Defeated. When that happens, we need to take a break and refocus on the basics of who Christ is and who we are in Him.
I had to strengthen my knees. BUT that only happened when I worked on my hips. Turns out the tendons from my hip muscles were pulling my knees. Jay's exercises were for my hips. Be ready to strengthen the weak areas in your Christian life but always be aware – they may not be where you think they are. You may need a wise coach to help you diagnose the source.
I switched to the track while I healed. We may need to switch to a "softer" area of service for a bit to recover and revive. It's a way to prevent long-term damage or ministry burn-out.
I'm making progress. Each day I run a little longer, and my knee hurts a little less, and recovers from the day's run a little sooner. I hope to be back on schedule before the season ends. When we get back into running our race for Christ after pain and difficulty, look for progress – strengthening, more endurance, and quicker recovery from routine stresses – and be encouraged by that.
Have you ever had to quit running for a while (physically or spiritually)? What helped you recover?