The Lake Beauty Lesson

It sounded like a good idea at the time.

On Friday afternoon, I was talking with a friend, and she told me that she and her sister had run around Lake Beauty, which amounted to approximately six miles. I'm no hard-core runner, but on my last run of the week, I usually like to push the mileage up a bit. Six miles sounded like the right challenge to end my week.

Up by 5:30 a.m. on Saturday morning, I was out the door a few minutes later with my hat, sunglasses, watch, and ear plugs secure. The speaker, Larry, had encouraged us all to find a quiet spot at LBBC that weekend to do some thinking; this was going to be my opportunity to do just that. Thus, I took a left from the camp and started my journey.

You will never see me sporting an "I  <3 running" t-shirt ever because I typically do not enjoy it.  However, my run on this morning was a bit anomalous. The gravel was spongy, so it cushioned my knees better, the wildlife was plentiful as it was early in the morning, and most importantly, it was peaceful - not a car or human in sight. I was thinking about Larry's messages thus far; all was simpatico.

Even though I had not mapped out the route, my plan was to "go left." As I navigated Ts in the road and passed dead end lefts, I remember thinking, "Thank you, God," for the signposts and "helps" to point me in the correct direction. Thus, the theory of lefts proved to be a sound one. . . until I hit about mile 4.

As I crested a hill, the road unraveled like a lazy shoestring before me; it extended as far as I could see. Although beautifully ensconced in the dew, thick foliage on both sides of the road limited my vision - there wasn't a "left" in sight. My last left had been "Ironwood Drive," which was a dead end. Now what?

For a good ten minutes, I ran back and forth on the same two-tenths of a mile, trying to decide whether to continue or turn back. I didn't have a cell phone to call anyone, and in considering the wilderness all around me, I seriously doubted if I would have a signal anyway. Likewise, since it was like 6:10 in the morning, I couldn't just wander up to a farmhouse and say, "Hey, I'm lost. Can you tell me which way to go?" As scenes from the movie, Deliverance, flashed across my mind, I decided that for my safety, I should probably just turn around and go back the way I came.

Disappointment washed over me. Instinctively, I could sense that I was close to the left I needed, but I had no clue as to the name of the road I needed because I hadn't checked a map before I started.

Likewise, the run back was not nearly so pleasant as before. My knees hurt, horseflies were buzzing my head, I could feel that a blister was forming on my left foot, and I was hot and irritable. The worst was that I was ticked off that I had not finished my run. As a goal-oriented, task-oriented individual, this is was just not acceptable to me.

And the worst of the worst? It was my own dang fault. If I would have just checked a map, I wouldn't be clocking eight miles for the day versus the original six.

Since God has a sense of humor, this is what He put in my head as I was back-tracking.  Matthew 7:7-12. . . 7 “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened."

When we ask in His name, and when it is accordance with His will, God will grant us the desires of our hearts. At the beginning of my run, the signs along the way were very clear; I had no chance of getting lost because a "Dead End" sign meant just that: a dead end. I would not progress to my goal if I took that road. I didn't have to think; I just had to obey and use common sense.

So what happened at mile 4? Why did God quit helping me?

God didn't quit. I just didn't do what I was supposed to. I didn't seek. I should have looked at a map. Clearly, I was going in the right direction, but I hadn't done my homework, and I ended up paying for it (actually, my right knee did) by not completing the task and doing more work than necessary.

When we look at the verses, God lets us know that asking is only one-third of what is required. We also have to seek and knock. Seeking suggests a series of actions, and knocking suggests continued action - not a one-shot deal. And all three are book-ended by faith and an on-going relationship with Christ. Relationships do not continue if there is no relating or communicating.

In addition to not preparing (seeking), I also allowed fear to control my actions. My Deliverance moment was purely stupid. It was six in the morning, and certainly, no one would abduct a middle-aged, sweaty jogger! And really, how lost could I be? It's not like I was in the Boundary Waters; there were houses sprinkled along the road. How could I let such irrational thoughts control my actions?!

When I later looked on the map, I saw that I was a 1/2 to 3/4 of a mile away from the left I needed to take (Lake Beauty Road). Because I feared the unknown, I "fainted" (quit) and retreated. What I needed was a healthy dose of faith to finish.  Sadly, this seems to be a repeat verse in the story of my life, BUT I am confident that these chapters of my life's story are coming to a close.

If I want to be a truly authentic Christian (and I do), I need to un-earth the wild child I have buried away under layers of programmed orthodoxy and "niceness," who will listen to only one Voice and whose convictions will be based on His holy Word so that I will trust more than fear and ultimately become transformed into the person God intended me to be.

And yes, God-willing, I will run around Lake Beauty next year. Even if there is a band of toothless hillbillies chasing after me, I will get 'er done.