Psalm 23...

Greetings, it is a pleasure to have you stop by!
Now, this is the second post in two days, I am not sure if that will be a pace I can keep, but I will sure try!
This blog idea started on Wednesday. In Omaha, temps were pushing a nice 100 degrees, and pastor craig calls me into his office...
so i walk in, hoping to be fired, and he asks, want to go for a run at 3 today? Hmm... i have heard that the hottest part of the day is usually around 1-3 in the afternoon, so i was not too excited about the invite. but unfortunately, i had a 3 o'clock meeting. craig was busy until about 5:30 so he suggested a 6 pm run. why not, it wouldn't be too hot i figured.
So, at about 2 pm i was driving back to church after a workship project (see previous blog to hear about that fun experience) and notice that the temperature was only 90 degrees... pretty mild, so i figure 6 pm will be even nicer... (cue some nice foreshadowing music here)
So i role over to craig's house and i am chatting with his mother-in-law and his wife amber, and i see his laptop. so i log onto weather.com and come to the wonderful recollection that it is 99 degrees at 6 pm.
normally, most sane people would stay inside or choose a nice easy route, but no not craig. he takes me out to Schram park where we run a 4.5 mile course that only has one flat spot, and for some reason we always seemed to miss it. he took me on two of the biggest hills in omaha... the grade for one was 8% and the other was 12%. that may not seem like much, but i dont think my 1.8 litre nissan sentra could make it up with the air conditioner on... (note from the editor, after closer examination of my gps records, the hills had grades in the 20% range during part of each climb... yeah, thats steep)
I drove home exhausted, in pain, and with a new hatred for craig...
the next day i did my normal 5.75 mile loop around my neck of the woods (note, the steepest grade is only 6%). My legs still burning from the day before, i was still tired and hot and sweaty (gross!). As i was running, i just hated the hills, i hated running up 6% grade for a half mile... and the down hills seemed unusually flat... as i rounded the corner of 156th street (yeah, i ran from center to q street on 156th... the hill from f street to the south is a killer!) i noticed that the land was leveling off a little. Joy started to fill my body, my legs were becoming lighter, my heart slowed... or, thats what you think should happen.
The exact opposite happened. The flattest parts were the stretches that were the most painful, my body didn't work as well as it seemed to on the uphills. there was no sense of accomplishment, as i looked back on the flat road, i had little to be proud of.
The hills are nice because they are a challenge, they show perserverance, they show success, downhills are a time to relax a time to rejuevenate, a reward for beating a nice uphill. Its the flats that are boring, redundant, and yet still challenging.
Thats kind of how i feel about life too. we all have ups and downs in our lives. you may have down times due to a lost job, broken relationship, death, divorce, and many other reasons. Even though these things are bad, many times it gives us an opportunity to grow, a time to focus on God and those closest to us. After the death of my father, our family united, many of my siblings sought after spiritual guidance that had never interested them before. We surged up that hill, and had a time of glory and success.
The youth group just experienced a mountain top experience on our annual mission trip. We served God in the gulf coast. Rebuilding houses and relationships. We are now cruising, we are coasting on a downhill. Still close to God, celebrating our work through Him, and His work in our lives.
Its the flats in life that are the most challenging. The times when things are just going by. The times where things aren't great, but they aren't bad either. There are no real dangers coming up, no crises surrounding us, nor are there times of emmense joy or closeness to God. Just as running on flat ground was for me, living life on flat land is just hard, boring and well, empty.
unfortunately, these are the times that most of our life is made of. The flat land makes up the majority of your day, your week, and your life. Hey, its how life is.
because this flat land this "plain" living makes such a large part of our life, we need to use it as a time to still grow closer to God, to still serve others, and allow God to work in us. There is no sense to wait for the uphills our downhills to draw close to God and your family and friends.
if your life is currently in a "plain" state, seek something to thank God for; find something to celebrate with family and friends. Don't get stuck in the rut of a boring life, like that long side walk that i was on.
Life cannot be all uphills and downhills, its going to be the flat land most of the time. find time to praise, time to pray, time to love and time thank God for all the great things He has done, and for all the uphills and downhills that make life so interesting.
I named this blog entry Psalm 23 because of the commonly known verse four: "Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I shall fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me." (NIV)
I want to amend that for the day Psalm 23:4 (BAV; brad's amended version)
"Even though i live in the plains of everyday life, i shall seek ways to praise you, for you are with me, though troubles and true joy are far, i will celebrate the comfort of your rod and staff." Yeah, it needs some work i know... May God be with you in all your flat land life opportunities!