Living Your Story: Running

At church right now we're doing a series on stories. What is your story? Is it a good one, a bad one, are you really living it? Each week, in preparation for the following weeks service they release prompts to inspire thought, writing and sharing. The idea being of course that we need to share our story with others.

One thing I love about our church is that towards the end of service there is a time we call "open mic". It is literally when the microphone is open to anyone who feels compelled to share with the rest of the church in response to service, how they're being inspired or challenged by God at the moment, or even a piece of art (dance, photography, poetry, etc) that they want to share. I'm terrified of public speaking and have only shared at open mic one time in all the time we've attended. Wanting to share his story, but avoid open mic, a fellow church-goer emailed out his prompt-responses. I won't share them in full because I don't feel it's appropriate, but there is an excerpt of his response for this week that I really enjoyed.

The prompts given out for next weekend's service are as follows:

• When did you quit running?
• When did you do something you did not want to do only to find out that you loved it?
• "There was once a chance I didn't take..."
• It was Erica Jong who said, "If you don't risk anything, you risk more." Write about what that statement means to you.
  
  
  An excerpt of response:
  
  
  "I came out of the womb running. Honestly, I don't believe I ever stopped. Really, though, I'm not sure anyone ever stops running. In that regard, we are like sharks. We must constantly move. If we ever stop moving we die. I had a professor/mentor my first go in college who used to say that life is like a caravan. Sometimes you are leading the group, sometimes you are lagging behind, but the only time we get left behind is when we stop moving, and that is also when we die.

  This ties in nicely with Erica Jong's quote, "If you don't risk anything, you risk more." I think of people like Howard Hughes. Rather than face his fears and move on he withdrew and wouldn't risk, and in the end, he died isolated. This is different than dying alone. Everyone dies alone, but some die isolated. Some die by retreating to a "golden age" of their life, and they miss out on the beauty around them. Some die by never risking love, or faith, or adventure, and they end up living a life of "what ifs." Anais Nin is quoted as saying, "And then the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk to bloom." I like that. It dovetails nicely with Jong.

  So, yeah, I believe we are always running. Sometimes we run toward something or someone. Sometimes we run away. Sometimes it's beautiful scenery, sometimes dull, sometimes scary. Maybe we jog or sprint or distance run, but we always run. I think that is why, in the end, God offers us rest, but in the meantime, what it boils down to is this: Which direction do you choose to run, toward or away?

  "Acquire the Spirit of Peace, and thousands of souls around you will be saved." ~ St. Seraphim of Sarov"