Wasatch loop, longer loop today past the zoo. Felt good, legs got tired around mile 7. Ball of foot is still hurting, may try ibuprofen and see if that helps. Iced again.
It's satisfying to feel my muscles strengthening. I lost most of the strength I had built up the past five years when I gave up running to go on a mission. Crazy how fast you lose it, but I don't regret "giving up" running even slightly. Going on a mission was the best thing I have ever done.
I just have to share this one thing because it relates to running. This last week I got to thinking about how God created us all differently, and gave us different talents. So it got me thinking about the different talents I have, and I wondered why running was among them. But as I pondered it I understood that running was not just a random talent given to me just because it was a card Heavenly Father dealt to me. No, it serves a purpose and Heavenly Father had thought long and hard about which talents were to go to which son or daughter of his. Because of running, I was able to find my testimony of the gospel and cling to the truths taught in the Bible and Book of Mormon. When I started running my freshman year of high school I immediately recognized that I could be good at it and became obsessed. Everything in my life revolved around it. Even so, I recognized that God was to be put first, always. In church and seminary I learned things that helped my testimony grow, but oddly it was running that solidified it. Anything I learned in church/seminary I would put to the test with running. One major one was the power of prayer. I cannot count how many times I had prayed before a race or a meet and saw miraculous things happen, either by my acceptance into a meet or in finals, or by my ability. I can list several races where I am blown away at the things that happened as a result of a simple prayer. My absolute favorite scripture since I began running has been Isaiah 40:31, which reads:
But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.
My seminary teacher pointed out the footnote, which says to "wait upon" is Hebrew for "to hope for, anticipate." I researched this more, and the Hebrew word qavah (I'm guessing Hebrew was the original language used in the Bible?) has two meanings, one is just that, to anticipate, literally to wait, but the other is "is to bind together like a cord." Think of a rope, with the individual strands woven together tightly. This is what gives it its strength, and no doubt is where we can find the same strength mentioned in the verse when we draw ourselves closer to God.
But I discovered another possible meaning this week when I was researching the meanings of words in old English (ha, don't ask why). According to the Oxford dictionary, in older english the meaning for "wait on" or "wait upon" was "to pay a respectful visit to." So how do you pay a respectful visit to the Lord? Prayer. My mind was blown. Unknowingly, the times before important meets when I prayed for the strength to perform well I was, in a way, "waiting upon" the Lord, and recieved fulfillment of the promises the Lord makes in Isaiah 40:31.
It could still be taken literally, however, such as in 2 Nephi 6:13 "...for the people of the Lord are they who wait for him; for they still wait for the coming of the Messiah." So, in order to recieve the promises to run and not be weary, and walk and not faint, you also must wait for, as in anticipate, the Second Coming, but that is a whole other discussion.
The meaning I had taken it to be for a long time was "to hope for," which I believe could be to have faith in. So, it could be read, "they that have faith in the Lord shall renew their strength..." What I love about the scriptures is that in any language, no matter the meaning of the word, there is still a valuable lesson to be learned. And even in languages such as english where words have multiple meanings, it sheds light on new things and can be interpreted many ways. So much can be learned from diving into the scriptures.
If you read to here, props to you. I tend to get a bit carried away with subjects I'm interested in.
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