Out there.

I'm one of those people who tends to

follow my heart,

act spontaneously,

and do what I believe in.

I believe that God orchestrates,

He closes and opens doors,

He brings us into relationship with other

like-minded people,

and He puts passions and dreams into our hearts.

Sometimes those dreams start out as whispers,

and grow year by year into something so strong

that a few words from a stranger can bring tears to our eyes

and a possibility can make our hearts beat faster.

For me,

that dream is going to India & Nepal.

And right now there's a door standing wide open,

and friends and family holding out their hands,

but for the first time I'm feeling

a little doubtful,

a little scared,

of following my heart.

But I guess I need to remember who I believe in.

A powerful God who asks us to do powerful things for Him.

"Ask great things of God,

expect great things from God

& attempt great things for God."

-William Carey

Sometimes waiting on the Lord looks like surrender.

"Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart"

Psalm 37:4

Praying that the desire of my heart

would align with His desires for me.

Run.

Running is my self-renewing compulsion.

I'll be honest and say that the last few days haven't been too peachy. I'll say that I cried for a good hour last night, but couldn't express what I have been feeling. I'll admit that I haven't opened my journal in days because I'm afraid of what the pages will say when I'm done. I haven't talked to God in a while because I'm a little too hurt, a little too angry, a little too confused.

But running always changes things.

When I run, I can talk to God. I can thank him for the beautiful open fields, the blue endless sky, for the blood that I can feel pumping through my body, for the clarity that comes at then end when I realize that I finally accomplished something. I feel strong and capable of anything when I run.

I noticed that when I'm stressed or going through something, my mileage goes up.

I ran 5 miles today, the longest I've gone in a long time. And I realized that running has some truths embedded in it that are part of the grand scheme of life.

These guys say it well::

"The real purpose of running isn't to win a race, its to test the limits of the human heart."-Bill Bowerman

"Good things come slowly-especially in distance running."

So the next time your heart is hurting, try lacing up your running shoes...but just remember, good things come slowly.