My best friend and I are runners- Not the healthy, fit, muscular kind of runners (although I do love running, and finished two 5K’s within 24 hours a few months ago), but the lets-get-away-from-here kind of runners.
Lately, more often than we’d care to admit, we’ve been inches away from falling into the traps of the enemy. No matter how intentional and careful we are with our hearts and spirits, we are certainly not immune to difficult days.
So what do we do when the world tries to bring us down? When we feel stuck? When we’re lost?
We run. We grab our keys. We pack our backpacks. We tighten (or in her case, loosen) our chacos. We run.
Where do we go? The answer to that question is almost always “nature.”
Our favorite spot on the river, where the sound of the rushing rapids drowns out the noise of the world.
A secluded trail that leads us to a quiet creek surrounded in Texas’s most beautiful wildflowers.
A pond hidden along a winding path, offering the clearest view of the brightest stars in the darkness of the night.
Here’s the thing: We aren’t running from our problems. We aren’t running from the people or things that have left us hurting. We aren’t running from the pain.
Instead, we carry all of those burdens with us, and run straight towards The One who can free our hearts from those chains and clear our minds of the lies the world feeds us.
Recently, on a day that shattered our spirits, a day that we heard many hateful lies and hurtful comments, we dried our tears and peeled each other off of my bedroom floor.
“We need to run”
We threw our bibles in my backpack, put on our swimsuits, and got in my car.
“Meet us at the river, Jesus. Meet us where we are.”
We ran, arms and hearts wide open.
We talked. We prayed. We read scripture. We listened.
Right there, amongst the moss covered rocks and flowing water, we exhaled the negativity that suffocated us, and we inhaled the peace and truth that The Lord so generously fills our lungs with.
After all, there’s no better way to feel close to the creator than to be in His creation.
We ran to Him, and He was there.
He met us at the river. He always does.
Friends, find your safe space- your happy place. Run. Ask Jesus to meet you there. I promise you that He’ll never turn down the invitation. He’ll meet you at your river. He’ll meet you where you are.
With all the love,
A
Teaspoon of Sprinkles 
Mmmmmmmm – so glad you have this friend, this spot, these times with God. The difficult days (or people) are not necessarily in our life to break us, but to MAKE us…make us more in the image of His Son. Slowly, purposefully, bit by bit! Psalm 139:23-24
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