Jesus, Dirty Shoes and Leg Shavings

I was out running in the rain yesterday, and found myself thoroughly enjoying getting my new shoes sopping wet and muddy in the puddles and on the trails. There’s something about getting off-road that just seems so right to me, especially lately. My buddy Don, who I run with every Friday, prefers to keep his new shoes clean and on the shelf until the rain goes away - which of course I’d love to say is an embarrassment to all westcoast outdoor enthusiasts - but since he whooped me in our last marathon in Victoria, I probably don’t have a lot of trash-talking ground to stand on.

But as I was getting my shoes dirty running yesterday, I felt so invigorated – and I was reminded that sometimes I need to get off-road to be awakened out of the hum-drum routine of life and religion that I slip into; to be awakened to the adventure of being pursued and pursuing the fullness of God and the fullness of my humanity; and I’m definitely realizing that that almost always means getting my nice new shoes a little dirty . . .

Don says that shaving my legs will help my time in the Vancouver Marathon on May 6th (this from the guy who doesn’t want to get his shoes dirty!) . . . I’m not sure if that’s a little too off-road for me though . . . I wonder if Jesus would do it?! Maybe if enough bloggers tell me to do it, I just might pull out the hot wax.