Shadows and Sunbeams...

I took a bit of a break from running this summer.
LOTS of stuff happened...
It was a busy one.
I've been fitting runs back into my mornings lately.
It hasn't been easy to "start over".
And really, I haven't had to start over.
Breathing is easy...
My legs get very tired though.
And then there's the aches and pains afterward.
Buck up, Heather!

So the other day, I was running on the trail...
It was 7am on a sunny Saturday and no one was up...
I was all alone...me and my iPod...some bunnies...
and Needtobreathe.
I kept pushing replay.
Multiplied...Washed by the Water...Lay 'em Down...Difference Maker...etc.
I appreciated that they had been shuffled together.
It doesn't always turn out that way.
Bunnies darted out from the hedge of fern, salal and Queen Anne's Lace...
They would run with me for a while and dart back into the brush.
They distracted me from how tired I was getting.
I'd only run about a mile or so.
I didn't want to quit but I really, really did want to quit.
I saw a patch of sun ahead.
I'd run to the sunbeam.
The shadow seemed to stretch as my eyes locked on the patch of light.
Keep on going, keep on going..
Needtobreathe serenaded me...
"Your love is like radiant diamonds
Bursting inside us, we cannot contain
Your love will surely come find us
Like blazing wild fires singing your name"
The sunbeam came and went and I hadn't collapsed in a heap, so set my sights on the next sunbeam.
But... I had to go through the shadows first.
The shadows always seem to stretch...
But the sunbeam finally came and I looked ahead to see how far the next one was.
It was do-able.
So I kept going.
"God of mercy, sweet love of mine
I have surrendered to Your design
May this offering stretch across the skies
And these Hallelujahs be multiplied"

It occurred to me as I ran from sunbeam to sunbeam,
That life is like that.
Shadows and sunbeams.
Sometimes the shadows stretch, but we know that if there are shadows, there's a sunbeam ahead.
And sometimes the sunbeam is wide and long...
Warm and bright...
We soak up the light and then another shadow.
God is faithful in the shadows and the sunbeams.
And I'm so thankful that He runs with me...
On the trail...
And off.

Psalm 36:5
Your steadfast love, O Lord, extends to the heavens, your faithfulness to the clouds.

More Heart...Less Attack

My daughter and I went to a NeedtoBreathe concert on Saturday night...the lighting was weird and we look very pink in the photo...it's sort of cool I think!

oh my holy freakin' goodness that was a good concert!
We sat in the balcony.
That proved to be an excellent choice.
The main floor was wall to wall people...
standing room only...
hot, sweaty, high-heeled, phone raising, screaming people...
I'm too old for that kind of togetherness.
Mostly, I was worried I'd get stepped on.
I have big feet so it happens easily in less crowded situations...
imagine the odds in that sort of scenario!
So the show starts...
it rocked...HARD!
I had perma-smile...
My hands hurt from all the clapping...
I sang...loud...and not well...
but it didn't matter because the music was louder.
I danced in my seat...
No one in the balcony was standing...
A blessing and a curse...
There are only so many moves you can do while sitting before you start bothering your neighbor.
We danced every one of those moves.
They played my favorite songs...my very favorite ones...
I almost teared up when they played "Keep your eyes open"...
I learned to run by pushing repeat on my iPod when I felt like quitting...
I've heard that song one million times...
It was heaven to see it played live.
They played for nearly two hours and when they came back for a second encore,
They played "More Heart, Less Attack".
It was quiet and beautiful and convicting...
Here are the words...

Be the light in the crack
Be the one that's been there on the camel's back
Slow to anger, quick to laugh
Be more heart and less attack

Be the wheels not the track
Be the wanderer that's coming back
Leave the past right where it's at
Be more heart and less attack

The more you take the less you have
Cuz it's you in the mirror staring back
Quick to let go, slow to react
Be more heart and less attack

Ever growing steadfast
And if need be the one that's in the gap
Be the never turning back
Twice the heart any man could have

Be the wheels not the track
Be the wanderer that's coming back
Leave the past right where it's at
Be more heart and less attack
Be more heart and less attack
Be more heart and less attack

There's a little more to the song, but that's the gist of it...

The "Amen's" could be heard ringing out from every corner of the venue.

It was a good reminder...

Love must be seasoned with grace...
lots and lots and lots of grace...
God's so perfect at that...
us, not so much.
I'm going to work on that...

Proverbs 16:24
Gracious words are like a honeycomb, sweetness to the soul and health to the body.