“How’s your running going?” This is a question I’ve gotten multiple times after coming home form Summer Camp. The answer is a mix between, “yeah, I’m keen to get back into it.” Or “I’m aiming to run 10km this year!” Now both of those answers are not indicative of how my actual running progress is going, and the reason why, is because I’m finding it hard to readjust back to regular life. Whether it’s busyness or tiredness running in this Brisbane heat is just not appealing. But hopefully by the time I finish this article I would have started my journey to running 10km.
Although exercise has not been on the top of my priority list, one thing that I have felt convicted about after summer camp was letting God completely transform my heart. I’ve aimed to be intentional about spending time with God and to not just give Him 10 minutes before bed, but to try and do small things throughout my day that invite Him into all aspects of my life. If there is something that I’ve learnt recently it’s that Jesus wants to be familiar with us. He wants connection with us. Not for us to try really hard to make our prayers sound holy, or to hide behind what’s truly going on in our lives. But to instead surrender, say yes, and invite Him into the spaces in our hearts that we may not want to give Him access to.
As you readjust and settle back into life, remember what you are striving for! Your striving for a life that offers you more than before and the journey is worth it! Like we sung in Goodbye Yesterday, “I have decided, to follow Jesus. The world behind, the cross before, I won’t turn back!” Now’s the time to keep running WITH our eyes on Jesus! I want to encourage you to think about the vision that you had for yourself when you felt closest to God. Who were you aiming to be? Who were you wanting to follow? What path are you wanting to run?
I know the readjustment period coming away from summer camp may feel hard, and that’s probably because it is. This part of the race is probably the hardest, it requires; vision, accountability and execution, but just keep running. It requires vision to know where you want to go, accountability to not lose sight of what you’re chasing, and execution to commit to your yeses. Like we heard from Fr Isaac, it’s so possible to fit in all the things we want to do on our day, but we must put God first! In Hebrews 12 it continues to say,
“So, strengthen your dropping hands and your weak knees. Make straight the paths for your feet, that what is lame may not be dislocated but healed.”
With that in mind here are a couple of tips that I have, to strengthen your knees.
1. Start with what you can commit to
It’s all well and good wanting to have a huge vision, it’s not a bad thing. But when it comes to execution you want to make sure you have set yourself expectations that you can commit to. Think persistence and consistency. It’s so much easier to say yes to praying for 10 minutes a day than praying for an hour every day. Just like running, it’s easier to say yes to a 5-minute run verses an hour if it’s out of your capacity. It’ll give you confidence and more likely than not, you’ll find yourself wanting to spend more time with Jesus.
2. Be Gentle on Yourself
Remember that our God is a God of connection, don’t expect a perfect trajectory. You will not be able to go from the starting line and cross the finish line without failing. But it’s important to get back up and keep running. All Jesus wants is your heart, so when things get hard just be honest and start again. Be gentle on yourself and let him guide you.
3. Find Community and Accountability
This is not a journey you do alone! Find people to do it with! I really want to encourage you to connect in with a local youth group and find people in your life that you know will push you closer to your goal. Jesus had 12 disciples, and when Jesus left, they had each other to call on and journey with. They’ll help remind you of your vision and push you if you need extra encouragement. They’ll help hold your heart and heal it along the way. There is strength in community, and I want to encourage you to go find it!
+ Jesus, thank you for loving me. Thank you for caring about me so much that you have set a race marked out for me. Please help me to keep my eyes on you, to straighten the path, so I can go on a journey with you to know you more and more.
Amen.