Of Running, Sprints, and the Present Moment

Life is meant for our enjoyment, not to rush through without regard to taking in every moment in which we can have genuine gratitude.

Not everything in our lives must be a sprint, although, I will say sprinters work hard on bursts of energy and still make it to the finish line.

Most of life is not like this, though. I suppose both running methods get you to your goal, but there’s a different spirit to both forms.

In my own life, slowing down a bit on my writing will lead to better results, so I’m knocking it down to four books a year that I will focus on marketing.

But there’s room for shadow dropping novels, too, with no prior announcements. Building up a consistent backlog of work in this manner doesn’t seem out of reach for my end goal of being a hybrid author.

Yet, it is a morning run, not an Olympic sprint.

Our daily lives are much the same way, even if some of them are rushing away from us.

Sometimes we want to rush toward tomorrow without stopping to take in the light of current days.

God tells us through Jesus Christ that tomorrow will worry about itself. There’s nothing wrong with tomorrow, or glancing at it from time to time, but, as Jesus said, sufficient for the day is its own trouble (or blessing, if you look at things in a different light).

Think about the events in your life that have brought you forward: the good, the hard, and the bad.

While living them out, you were all you could be at the time, steadily making your way toward today.

There’s no sense in constantly worrying about long-term goals if you’re missing out on the present.

The shadows of the past are there to remind us. The light of the present is there to sustain us and help us see, and the whispers of the future help us move forward toward destiny.

“I get to bring light into this person’s life in the here and now.” That’s what we should say.

Again, thinking about tomorrow isn’t a bad thing. I’m sure Joseph, in his captivity and slavery, often wondered how his dreams would be fulfilled. Yet, he kept them in his heart and was moved to tears when they were fulfilled. But he served in the present time for 13 years and served in his glory for 9 more years after that until the tomorrow that would worry about itself came to pass.

It’s about having the right attitude and perspective. God knows all things, we do not. We cannot know the future (unless He reveals something as a gift to us, such as the prophets in the Scriptures or a personal word).

Take the marathon and sprint here and there. That’s the balanced approach.

Besides, if you run too fast, you’ll miss the sections of your life that will make you into that greater person of tomorrow.

Sufficient for the day is the person you are in it.