Running Streak: Day 24

For those of you who are wondering how the running streak is going, allow me to offer a quick update:

Today is Day 24 and the streak continues. By and large, the process has not been too terribly difficult, but there are certainly days the commitment has been challenging. For instance, for the last 4 days I have had a pretty good little butt-kicking sinus infection and let me assure you the last thing I wanted to do was go run. All I really wanted to do was lay on the couch drinking orange juice and watching old episodes of Lost. (I'm about 5 years late to that party, but enjoying it nonetheless.) But I made a commitment ... a commitment to run e-v-e-r-y-d-a-y. And so I suit up and go.

Then I think about other people who've made commitments, like my fellow soldiers currently serving across the globe.

This picture is the status board for the full-time Soldiers in my unit. When I saw it at drill this month, it captured my attention. Something about seeing their names and their status set to "out", where it would remain for the next year. But they are not "out" on vacation, or running errands. They have not just stepped away from their desks. They are "out" honoring their commitment to the US Army, and more specifically to the people of the United States. And everyday, they honor that commitment and get up and do the job they have been trained to do. It is not always easy. It is rarely convenient. But they do it. They sacrifice a year with their families, a year's worth of nights in their own beds, a year's worth of days watching their kids grow up. Why? One word: Commitment.

So tonight when I lay my congested head down to sleep, I will not complain about having to get up and run tomorrow morning. I will offer thanks for the selfless service that has provided the freedom to do so. And I will honor my commitment to run that I might become stronger, faster, and more disciplined, knowing someday soon I too will serve my country overseas and the efforts I make now pave the way for my success then.

1 Corinthians 9:26-27 (NIV)

²⁶Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air. ²⁷No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.