Run by Kayla Morris

If Your revelation hadn't delighted me so, I would have given up when the hard times came. Psalm 119:92(MSG)

From the "Voices From the Middle 9" comes this poem by a young lady with whom I have had the privilege to watch grow from a tiny baby into the beautiful and intelligent young lady that she is today. We will need to watch for more works from Kayla Morris in the future; At a mere fourteen, she is a promising author!

I'm excited to be posting this poem on my blog, as it is Kayla's first publication! It speaks to my "running" heart, and I hope you too will enjoy it's depth. We must never give up in our endeavor to stand for what we believe in. I was so blessed to read this and I hope you will find meaning in it as well. I want to thank Kayla for allowing me to post this on my blog.

RUN 

by Kayla Morris

She knows how to run
But not how to take a stand

RUN by Kayla Morris

Running is all she does
As she runs longer and faster
She feels as though the fears are fading
Fears recede
Emotions dull
Excitement becomes real
She runs with the fears in her pockets
The depression under her soles
She feels as though her fears can never catch her
But as her running slows
Fears build like stone
Emotions grow like fire
Excitement reduces to a bare nothing
She wears the pain on her face and in her words
That's why she took a stand
That's why she stopped running
She has no pain, she has no fear
Now she knows not how to run
But how to take a stand

The Tarantula On My Path

Psalm 119:40(MSG)
See how hungry I am for Your counsel; preserve my life through Your righteous ways!

It was a beautiful day here today!  There was a gentle breeze blowing, warm sunshine beaming down,  and a clear blue sky.  A perfect day for a run.  I pulled on my sneakers and hit the trail.  The path I chose today is one of my favorites because it winds along a creek bed.  The sound of the stream paired with the birds singing in the distance makes for an incredible run!  The trees form tunnels through the woods in some places, and in other areas there are wide open fields where one can see for miles.  The leaves and branches often accumulate on the path, however, so I have to watch my footing or I might end up stepping wrong and twisting an ankle.  Because of this, my gaze is constantly passing back and forth over the earth about two feet in front of me. 

As I made my last turn on the path, I came into the shadows of the trees and felt the cool welcome wind on my face.  My mind had been wandering through the list of mounting obstacles that I've recently had placed in my life.  It was about this time when I caught my first glimpse of it.  There, right below my feet by this point, sat a huge tarantula!!  I jumped what felt like at least two feet in the air and let out a scream loud enough for the entire countryside to hear.  By my calculations, I was going to land right on one of the sprawling legs of the creature!  Not daring to take my eyes off of what would probably be a spider strike, I watched my foot moving in slow motion as it landed directly next to his long hairy leg.  Bracing myself for what was sure to hurt, but still trying to avert his teeth, I noticed he didn't move.  That's odd....I would have thought my shoe hitting so close to him would have startled him into some sort of motion.  

Tarantula

That was when I stopped dead in my tracks.  I bent my head a little closer.  I realized upon further inspection that this wasn't even a spider at all!  It was simply some dead dark leaf residue that had spindled itself on the pavement into the shape of a nasty spider.  Wow!  As my heart rate returned to baseline and I managed to continue down the lane, I wondered something.  How many times in my life have I been frightened by an obstacle because I misinterpreted what it was?  The pattern of the leaves on the path today looked like impending doom to me.  In the same way, there are things looming in my future that seem huge and frightening, but they may not even be a threat.  How about you?  Do you have something that stands in front of you casting a dark shadow on everything around and threatening to harm you?

Enter today's verse.  If I will seek His counsel, He will bring light to my situation and redefine it for me.  My view and perception of the challenge might be incorrect just like I incorrectly identified the leafs today.  Things can look very different when we get His perspective on things.

Oh God,
Thank You for Your words that show me Your right way.  Thank You for the counsel and security that are mine through Your letters given to me in the Holy Bible.  Please give me the map to go around the mountain, the tools to drill through it, the strength to go over it, or the vision to see that it is not even a mountain at all.
In Jesus Name,
Amen

Run The Course

Psalm 119:32(MSG)
I'll run the course You lay out for me if You'll just show me how.

Taking in the beauty of nature on a trail not far from home.

I have a love~hate relationship with running.  Let me explain.  I hate to start the run, but I love it after the first ten minutes or so and I especially love the feeling of accomplishment that comes after I have successfully completed the course.  The mental gymnastics that I go through just to get myself out there on the trail is ridiculous!  Those first few steps and essentially the first mile are usually a bit painful.  The aches and stiffness from generalized wear and tear on my body through the years seem to scream, "What are you doing to to me?!"  Eventually, however, these voices settle down and allow me to get into a rhythm.

Through the years, I have picked up some very helpful tips from runners.  By the way, if you run, then by definition, you are a "runner".  So, you are probably a "runner" too, and just didn't know it!  Anyway, without some of these very helpful procedural notes, I would have had a lot more struggles in the running world.  Here are a few helpful hints in case you want to dust off your running shoes and hit the trail:

1. Purchase a good pair of running shoes.  Visit your local athletic store and let them watch you run on a treadmill.  They do this for free and can analyze your gait and suggest helpful apparel.
2. Start your mileage out slowly and work up gradually.  Running five miles your first day out is not a smart idea.
3. Find a running partner.  This is so helpful!  When you're not motivated, hopefully they are!  
4. It's okay to walk portions of your run.  You can start out running 1 minute and walking 9 minutes out of ten minute cycles.  The next time out build up to running 2 minutes and walking 8 minutes and so on.  (This advice was presented to me from     a knowledgeable coach and it really does work to build up your endurance.) 
5. Be consistent.  At least three to four days of running a week is optimal.  Throwing in an additional cross training session or two helps even more.
6. There are a lot of helpful sites out there on the web.  www.runnersworld.com and www.halhigdon.com are two that I have found extremely useful.
7. One final thing that is very helpful and pertains to tonight's verse.  If you plan on running an official race, be sure to look up the course map and study the path.  If you have the ability to run the route once or twice before your race, do it.  It will help you immensely to know where your biggest challenges lie as it relates to hills and any other obstacles that might be out there.

As I think about running the course that God has set out for me, I get a pretty clear picture that I will need His Word and the guidance of the Holy Spirit to prepare me for what lies ahead in my path.  As I purpose to listen closely, I trust that He will most certainly show me how to run an effective race for Him!

God,
You are an amazing presence in our lives.  Sometimes I stumble and get tripped up trying to run this race of life.  Please help me to stay on the course that You have laid out for me.  May I sense Your direction and complete the race with a heart of love for You.
In Jesus Name,
Amen