… And I had Forgotten How to Run!

I was visiting with my neighbor a few weeks ago and the topic of growing old came up. He is, in fact, older than I am (Yes, Virginia, there are people older than me!), and I told him about the time I was playing wiffle ball in the backyard with the grandkids. As I was running I became top heavy, I guess you could say, and fell down on both of my knees. The only thing hurt, of course, was my pride, and after a robust round of laughter we went back to playing the game.

My neighbor shared a story of his own with me, and it was really an intriguing one. He was, he told me, on Cave Creek Road just south of Greenway. He decided to cross the street, but wanting to save time, he opted to do a little jaywalking rather than going all the way to the corner and the crosswalk. As he made his way across he noticed that one of the cars was coming a little faster than he had originally calculated. No problem, he thought, I will just run a little and get to the other side quicker. Then he said, “…And I had Forgotten How to Run!”

We both laughed about our incidents, and went on our way. I don’t know if he even remembers what I said, but his words impacted me greatly! I have grown up with the phrase, “use it or lose it” being applied to everything from vacation time to the last piece of chocolate cake, but I never thought that it could be true of something as common place as running!

As I cogitated on this I began to realize that running is not an involuntary activity like, say, breathing. It is something that we have to think about, and, apparently, if we don’t think about it not only does it become something we can’t do, it becomes something we don’t even remember how to do!

As I continued to consider this (Remember, I said this impacted me greatly!), I realized that our Faith Walk could find us in a similar situation to my neighbor when he needed to run. Because he hadn’t run in so long, it wasn’t his muscles that didn’t respond, but his very being, for he told me “…And I had Forgotten How to Run!”

If we want to live in Faith, we have to exercise our Faith. We have to use it, but, before we can use it, we have to have it! The GOOD NEWS is that we are provided an avenue to strengthen and increase our Faith, for Romans 10:17 tells us, “So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” That’s why is so imperative that we spend time reading and studying our BIBLE … because when it comes to Faith, we do either “use it or lose it.”

And, by the way, if you happen to see me out and about and I’m sprinting down the sidewalk or across the Parking Lot, don’t worry that there might be something wrong, I am just ensuring that I never have to say, “…And I had Forgotten How to Run!”