Usually at the beginning of each week, I post a weigh-in and my plans for the week. Not doing that this week, and only in part because my weigh-in did not go as planned.
No, today just isn't a day for the usual. Today, I feel compelled to do something different. Today, my heart is with the city of Boston, and with runners around the globe who are reeling in the aftermath of the bombings at yesterday's marathon.
In my life, I have never done anything that compares to running. I have often described it as the one thing I work the hardest at, even though I continue to suck. It's true; I am not a good runner. I am horrible. But I am a runner, and in Boston on April 15, 2013, my people were attacked.
Those were my brothers and sisters who were wounded and killed at the finish line. Not my blood kin, but they were mine just the same. Every runner I have talked to feels the same way. I find it interesting that as the news started pouring in, my running friends and family began to check in on one another. Not because any of us knew anyone who was running Boston, but because we knew we were all heartsick over what had happened there.
Today, we wear our race t-shirts (without regard for how silly they might look with our work attire) to show our support for Boston. We feel like we have to do something, and it's hard to imagine what we can do, so we pray ... we wear a race shirt ... and we run.
I'll be doing all three tonight. My run tonight will be seven miles of prayer for Boston, the people wounded, and the souls gone home. Beyond that, I'd like to suggest that we all shine a light on our world. In running, I have discovered the best parts of myself, so let's try and do that for others; not necessarily by forcing them to run (although I'd like to!) but more by loving them right where they are.
Love. Acceptance. Joy. I get all of that from the act of running, and the people who run alongside me. The least we can do is offer the same up to all our fellow men.
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