Well… the Stephens in me is poking up it’s persistent head again and it is beckoning me to get back into racing shape!  Years of injuries and wear and tear on my joints are not making this venture very easy, but I’m a pretty stubborn guy, so I’m making a run at it.  How do you get back in shape?  By being consistent, and sometimes being consistent means running when you don’t feel like it or running in not so ideal conditions.  As we speak, we are in the middle of one those 3 day rain storms… a soaking, cold, October rain!  I have two options before me… run in the cold rain or jump on our treadmill in the basement.  For some this would be a no-brainer… hit the treadmill right?  But I must confess, I HATE running on the treadmill.  My heart and lungs don’t know the difference but my eyes and mind do!  When I run… I wanna feel like I’m going somewhere… I wanna see my progress, and you just don’t get that on a treadmill.  It makes a 4 mile run seem like an 8 mile run… so I went and ran in the rain, which I’m sure didn’t help the cold I’m currently battling.  

     As I thought about my hatred for running on treadmills, it reminded me of why our efforts to serve Jesus and show the world the love of Christ can be so hard… because sometimes it feels like we’re getting nowhere.  At least that has been my experience.  Sometimes I seem to strive so hard for the kingdom of God, only to see apathy among his people and very few coming to faith in Christ.  It’s daunting and downright discouraging at times… it feels like I’m running on a spiritual treadmill.  But here’s the thing… when I’m running a treadmill… whether my mind is engaged or not, my body is reaping dividends.  The same is true when we are planting seeds that seem not to be growing.  Some seeds take more time to develop… but we are NEVER wasting our time when we invest our lives into others.  Not long ago, I got an email from a guy that I ran cross country with in college.  I haven’t talked to this guy in 9 years, so you can imagine my surprise when I got his message.  He is a young man who has made some poor decisions in his life, but is now trying to connect with God, and he said, “the only person I could think of was you Rob.”  Wow… I planted that seed 9 years ago and haven’t seen him since, and yet… here now that seed is beginning to grow.  What’s the point?  ”Let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we will reap if we do not grow weary” (Galatians 6:9)  It’s time to instill some treadmill faith… faith that God is at work even when we feel like we’re going nowhere.  Sometimes I need to be reminded that God is at work in ways that can’t always see.  Thank You God for Your sovereign work in my little life!