I’ve taken the better part of the week off. This was out of necessity as this summer has found me in a rather stressed-out, emotionally down state indicative of a long battle with joblessness. The wearisome hunt for a full-time job has wrung my heart dry of lifeblood. Rest has been the goal of the past several days, the theme carrying on today and the next, in an effort to restore my heart. So I sit here now, some familiar tunes fill my room, me on my couch with laptop under finger, talking to my God, tuning my heart to the song He is playing, that He has been playing for all time.
It crosses my mind that some might refer to this as the calm before the storm. Students return to campus in a few short days kick-starting illini life into ‘the short fall.’ We’ve been through quite a few of these, my heart and I – this will be the sixth. Soon there will be meeting after meeting discussing the events we have planned, our vision for the coming year, our hopes, expectations and desire to be unified with our Lord as we pursue it all. Then the first week of events – Quad Day, Follow-Up, The Rally, Adventure Race, First SNG, Crash the Pastors, I-Team. Follow-Up will continue as we move to the familiar routine of I-Team and SNG each week with meetings sprinkled around. The Storm being this line up, this pace.
This Pace…
That rings more true with my heart. This week, this summer, the past years – to me they have all been the training runs, the preparation for the big race, for going the distance. The Storm – that sounds dark, scary. The Race – that sounds true. My heart stirring with excitement and adrenaline as it pumps life to my legs and body, whispering “here we go again, you’ve trained for this, He’s prepared you, your heart is reflecting His.” The pace is always a shock at first, warming up after a mile or so the legs are loose, the breathing smooth, the mind focused and the miles fly past. It’ll be December soon – the aid station for a campus ministry – snow on the ground, trees bare, mumblings of final exams and students tired from a long sleepless semester. Not long after that will be the finish line in May. We’ve done this before, my heart and I, remember.
