Calm and Collected

Another 3 mile run has been crossed off of the list!  It was an absolutely gorgeous day for a run, and I'm happy that I chose to wear a long-sleeved shirt instead of a hoodie, otherwise I would have been an even sweatier mess!  Even though I ran solo today, I was able to take the time to truly embrace the neighborhoods that I traveled through, the strengths and weaknesses in my life, and the beauty and support of my family and friends. 


As I'm working through my daily life, I'm trying to place my life, actions, and decisions in God's hands, and while my music selection for running may not have been the biggest step, I feel that each and every song that I heard had a purpose to my run today.  Typically, I create playlists with an abundance of upbeat songs, because they keep you motivated and help you to run at a fairly good pace.  Instead of using one of my pre-made lists, I decided to put my iPod on shuffle mode, and asked God to play the songs that he felt would motivate me on my run.  All of the songs that I heard were not typical to what I would run to -- they were calm, soothing, and had deep and emotional lyrics.  I began to get discouraged after I heard slow song after slow song, but about 1.5 miles in, I realized that I needed to enjoy the beauty of what I was doing.  I sometimes forget that I'm not running just to knock out an awesome workout, but I'm doing this to improve my relationships and to make myself a better me.  After I came to this realization, and I began listening to the lyrics of the songs, I found that each song was telling me something about where I stand in my life right now. 


The last song of my run stuck out to me the most, and brought a huge smile to my face.  I realize that I shared a song last week, but I'm going to share this one with you as well.  We often forget about the beauty within ourselves, and are constantly seeking to change ourselves for other people.  Take a stand for yourself.  Love you for you.  You are strong.  You are beautiful!