Change

Fall has been my favorite season ever since I reached the point where I didn’t dread going back to school.

This morning, as I walked out to my car, there was a chill in the air. Outside, some of the more adventurous trees have begun to transition to autumn colors.

It seems like it has taken a while, but fall is surely approaching: the days are getting shorter, the Major League Baseball Playoffs are underway, and in Northwest Arkansas, our drinking water tastes very much like dirt.

Although I enjoy the the change in seasons that we get to experience here in the Ozarks, I am not a fan of change in general. As time passes, I lose touch with old friends, have to say good-bye to lost loved ones, and become increasingly disconcerted by events and developments that occur throughout the world.

In a time filled with constant changes, some of which are very unpleasant, I am always comforted when I remember Hebrews 13.8 which says, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.”

How great it is that in a world where we can’t count on anything to remain constant, the only One who we should count on always will!

Jesus, our Rock and Redeemer, will always be there for us, and His love for us will never change.

Learning to Run

I’ve been running quite a bit lately. Now, when I say “quite a bit,” I don’t mean that in an absolute sense, i.e., “I’ve been running 50 miles a week,” but more in a relative sense—I used to run not at all, and now I run a few times a week.

This recent development has reminded me of two things I had somehow forgotten about running.

First, running is much, much nicer when it starts to get cooler outside. I ran on and off over the summer, and would generally run at night, but even then, it was hot and I hated it. Now though, as autumn begins to break through summer, things are different. The other night I went outside to run and was actually cold. It was a wonderful feeling.

The other thing I had forgotten is that, at least to an extent, the more you run, the more you enjoy it. In general, I don’t like to run. I appreciate the benefits of running, but usually, I dread it beforehand, suffer through the run itself, and then complain about it afterwards.

This has been noticeably better the last few runs. I actually find myself looking forward to running sometimes, and the runs themselves are more enjoyable. And multiple times throughout the day, when I’m not running, my legs get this restless feeling as if they’re yearning for more exercise. It’s a good feeling.

At this point, I am by no means proclaiming myself to be a convert to running, but who knows? I might could get used to this.

* I don’t want to mislead anyone by the picture. Not only is that not me, but I’m not running anywhere near that quickly. At this point, I’m at more of a Wile E. Coyote pace.