I have to share with you a funny story that happened to me today while I was out for my run.
I have a small shuffle player that I listen to while exercising – maybe not as cool as an iPod or iPhone, but it works for me. The only downside is that I can’t create playlists on it, but I’m not much of a playlist kind of girl. In fact, I enjoy being surprised by the often-eclectic mix I hear. I like to think that some days God takes advantage of having a captive audience, when He has something He really wants to say to me. 🙂
Well, today was apparently one of “those” days. I had planned to go for one of my 10K training runs: 5 minutes of brisk walking to warm up, followed by 3 18-minute run intervals, with 1 minute walking recovery in between. The course I use when I do these long runs is scenic and beautiful, with large acreage lots and horses and longhorns and two-lane country roads. It’s also very hilly and challenging and pushes me to go beyond what I think I’m capable of doing. Today, I was really struggling. I had run out of gas after the first two run intervals and my hamstrings were unusually sore, so I decided to walk the majority of the last interval. I used that time to pray and talk to God and seek His encouragement. This song came on, and even though it’s one that I’ve heard probably hundreds of times, the words just really spoke to me:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CWq1XYxtlRs&feature=related[/youtube]
For some reason, this song was just speaking to me in a powerful way. I was crying out to God, “YES!! That’s what I want!! I want to shine like the stars! I want to be YOUR light!” It was a precious time of worship, even in the midst of a failed training run. I just sensed God’s nearness and love and even His pleasure as my heart expressed my deepest desire to Him.
The song ended. My soul was soaring. My heart was overflowing. My spirit was burning. I could hardly wait to hear the next song.
And what should that next song be? “La Bamba.”
Worship. was. over.
The mountaintop experience was gone. Just like that. I had to laugh. I’m pretty sure God was laughing, too. He has a sense of humor, ya know.