Do Something Ridiculous

Last month I did something unthinkable, unbelievable, and thoroughly ridiculous.  Anyone who knew me as the nerdy, knobby-kneed, scared-of-the-softball girl who always sought a doctor’s note to get out of running the mile at school would agree.

I ran a half marathon.  That’s 13.1 miles.  And all at the same time.

My experience is not unique.  I’m just a middle-aged mom who all of a sudden realized that this body of mine needed some attention.  Running seemed an easy and relatively inexpensive way to tackle that problem (though I had never run before), and I just got up one day and ran a quick and painful one mile loop on the golf course path in our development.  One mile turned into two, the golf course path gave way to longer runs out among the farms on local roads, and eventually I signed up for the big goal of a half marathon (probably in part because it was too far in the future to be all that scary).

During my training runs, if I wanted to stop and walk, I pushed it to the next mailbox or the next tree.  When I didn’t feel like going out because it was 40 degrees and raining, I made myself go.  After a lazy week when I had no excuse for skipping out on runs but I did anyway, I doubled my resolve.  When friends asked me to run and I was nervous because they were more experienced than me, I joined them.  And after nine months of dreaming and training and injuries and backtracking and frustration and little weekly achievements, I did it.

When I boil it all down, the simple truth is that I didn’t let my fears steal the vision of the me I could be.  

Some of you reading may be athletes.  This may not seem like a big deal to you.  But this for me was one of those “impossibles” that I once listed up there with climbing Mount Everest.  And whether or not running a half marathon is on your “impossibles” list, I’m absolutely sure that somewhere inside you is one of those unthinkable, unbelievable, and thoroughly ridiculous things just waiting to get out.

What is it for you?  

Is there a health, fitness or physical goal that seems impossible to you?  If you were to name something totally ridiculous, that nevertheless sits quietly in the back of your mind waiting for your attention, what would it be?  Name it to yourself.  Whisper it out loud.  God may just whisper back that now is the time.  And if you decide to embark on the pursuit of that goal, He surely will come alongside you with pom poms and Powerade.

There is something about setting a goal, making a plan, following through, dealing with failure and lack of motivation (which are both inevitable), and reaching what once seemed unattainable that brings us closer to our Creator.  There is no lack of strength or courage available to us; we can tap into bottomless sources of both.  If you have been plagued by a case of the “nevers”, or a hefty dose of “I can’t”, let me reassure you: our God is all about making impossible things happen.  And even with stumbling blocks, frustrations and failures, sticking with something big, something that seems impossible, is worth all the blood, sweat and tears it may cost you.

I am proof of that.  And I’d love to encourage you to live your vision.  So I ask you: what is something seemingly impossible that you can set out to prove is not?