Mind over matter

"Now if you are going to win any battle you have to do one thing. You have to make the mind run the body. Never let the body tell the mind what to do. The body will always give up. It is always tired morning, noon, and night. But the body is never tired if the mind is not tired. When you were younger the mind could make you dance all night, and the body was never tired...

You've always got to make the mind take over and keep going."

- George S. Patton, U.S. Army General and 1912 Olympian

Well, he certainly got one thing right!  The body WILL always give up ... and yes, this body is tired right now and it will be tired at lunch and it will be tired tonight.  It is always tired ... when I get home, when I get up, when I want to go for a run, when I just know I need to go for a run.  Tired, tired, tired.  I WISH I could be a morning runner, I've tried ... I am just not a morning person (probably never will be) ... I can just not get up early enough to get myself awake enough to have any sort of "productive" run in the morning.  But, I also can't give myself any opportunity to sit down and veg when I get home or I can forget the run.  The only way this really works in my life is if I go straight from work clothes to workout clothes and do it before anything else.  That's the challenge, especially when there are things I want or need to do ... or, like last night, it's later when I get home.  URRRGGGGHHHHHH .... not sure why this has to be so hard.  (ummmm, sorry!  I was gonna work on that not complaining thing!!)

Anyone with me?  Why does the "right" thing so often have to be the hard thing?  Journeying along with the Israelites this morning.  Moses was getting them ready to camp out on the outskirts of Canaan ... finally ready for the real deal.  Exciting ... after all, it'd been a long, long time. But he knew, even with God's promises of Canaan, there was enemy territory to pass through to get there.  How true for us as well.  Even when we know God has promised and God will provide, there's often a battle waiting to get us there.  Maybe it's fear or doubt, feeling inadequte, even getting a little independent or cocky that you know the route and you've "got this" ... Some days it even seems the the surest way to know that you are going in the "right" direction is that its tough.  But tough often = good. 

I remember telling Laura last time that the marathon was simply mind over matter.  Now that my muscles have experienced 26.2 miles, they beg to differ.  But truly, it is.  Much of life is.  What I set my mind to do, I do.  Now, that doesn't mean I can mind over matter a 4 hour marathon finish ... not without training.  I think eventually I could mind over matter the training I'd have to do to accomplish that goal.  But I can mind over matter a finish.  I think that's where this delivery room grace (thanks, Laura!) thing comes back into play!  When we get to the moment of thinking we can't, God steps in with the grace to match that task ... and when we keep on going on and don't give up (our part), His grace meets our determination, perseverance, etc. and together we do what we could not do alone!  I hear people sooooo often say "I could never make it through _____________"  I've said it.  Many of you guys have faced obstacles that I think I would shrink under.   But that's simply the point.  Odds are, before you found yourself staring that mountain in the face, you would have been in the "I could never" club!  But when it's your struggle, you have to put on your big girl pants (as Emily would say) and tackle it one step at a time.  And you do, with the grace God gives you for each one of those steps.  And then you find one day that you've made it further than you ever thought yourself capable.  Gee, I can't wait to find myself 18 miles into that thing and not remember how God got me there!  But thankful that He did!

Even youths will become weak and tired,

and young men will fall in exhaustion.

But those who trust in the Lord will find new strength.

They will soar high on wings like eagles.

They will run and not grow weary.

They will walk and not faint.

Is. 40:30-31

God never promised us that we'd not wake up tired ... that we'd not be bone weary at the end of the day ... that we'd not faint in the exhaustion of the things life throws at us.  But He did promise us new strength that lets us run and walk to the next place. 

All of me for all YOU are!