My First Practice 5K

Well, this beautiful Saturday morning, at 6:00 am, I went to the gym where i work to attempt to walk a 5K on the treadmill. Against all Satan's taunts to quit, I walked it, 3.1 miles. At 3.2 mph I did it in 59 minutes, which would have been less time but I did my 5 minutes warm up starting at 2.7 mph up to 3.0 mph (.22 miles) and so it took a little longer than I anticipated. BUT I DID IT!!! I kept thinking, "at 27 minutes you're half-way there," and then "at 40 minutes you're 3/4 there," and then I had to keep walking because at 50 minutes I wasn't there yet. LOL I kept asking myself towards the end, "Now why are you doing this? What's the motivation, the purpose? Because you're sweating profusely and your body is screaming to stop." Then I remembered that I watched "Facing the Giants" last night. There's a part in the movie where the coach is talking to an older gentleman who has come to the school and prayed for the students at their lockers for years. As the older man is leaving the school the coach goes out and stops him and asks him if he really believes the prophetic word he's just told him were really true. And the man tells him a story. Goes something like this: There were 2 farmers who desperately needed rain and each were praying for rain. One of the men went out and plowed up and fertilized his field and the other didn't. He asked the coach, "Of the two men praying for rain, which do you think received the greater blessing when the rain came?" The coach responded, "Well, the one who plowed his field." Right. You need to go prepare for rain." I remembered his words as I walked. I was preparing for rain. I realized the reason I was doing this, solely was to honor Jesus and to sow others what Jesus can do in their lives if the let him, and the phrase kept playing over and over in my head, "I'm doing it to honor Jesus, Don't quit now. I'm doing it to honor Jesus, don't quit now! You're almost there, you're preparing for rain!" Once I reached 3.0 mph I kept it on that program until I reached 3.1. Several hours later while pondering the morning's event, I realized the more ponder it, the more alive I feel. It's like His joy, His favor is pouring down on me, and in me, like heavenly rain. How I praise His name for the journey to fully alive living!