Some of you will remember a rambling some time ago in which I noted my ability to overdo it and push too hard when running, which can and has led to injury. As I was training for the Bridge Run, injury was not far off when I realized it wasn’t ALL my overdoing it. Sometimes it is the equipment. Since I took up running again last year I had been using a “minimal” style of shoe. The minimalist movement in running at it’s most radical means running barefoot – as God intended. But for those who don’t have the toughness in their soles to handle gravel and road debris, there is a style of running shoe that is minimalistic in its construction.
The shoes in this category are very simple, and have very thin soles and very little in the way of support. They are extremely light, and in theory they help you find a natural stride that is less impactful than typical running. I loved it. Until my mileage went up. As I started to run four and five miles my joints would start to hurt. Donna, who also ran in minimalist running shoes would experience the same phenomenon, particularly after the shoe had a few months wear on it. We realized we needed better shoes.
So, off we went the week before the Bridge Run to find new shoes. I had heard from several folks that First Place Sports in Jacksonville was the place to go. They have employees who know running and will help you find the shoe for your particular training needs. The man who helped us clearly knew his stuff. He did an analysis of our current shoes, noting wear patterns and overall shape. He declared, for example, that Donna’s shoes were dead and that she should never ever run in them again. He had us each put on a new pair of shoes and run inside the store while he filmed our gait. Afterwards he described what he was seeing and promptly started bringing out shoes for us to try.
Long story shorter, we both headed back up route 95 with
new running shoes that got their first debut during the bridge run. I love my new shoes and haven’t experienced the pain I did with the old ones. I learned that my form is not “great” anymore as a runner (if it ever was), and that as a result, my shoes came in a box with the word “Support” stamped on the side under the shoe’s description. I need more support than I realized and the lack of it was impairing my running and opening me up to injury.
I think that many of us tend to go through life under-supported. It is a cultural value to be self-sufficient, to do things on our own, and to try to tough out the hard parts. But in doing that, we also tend to blame ourselves when things are hard. If we can’t figure out how to get something done easily or quickly or without error, it must mean there is something wrong with us. It may be that there is something wrong with us, but it also may be that we simply need support!
I don’t think we can underestimate the value of community in this regard. One of the chief things that a community can do, particularly a Christian community, is to support one another. Now around here, people may not know we need support, or how to offer it. We might have to ask for support. Not in a demanding or overly needy way, but by being honest and humble about it. And if we’re in the community and see somebody who can use a little support, it is our calling to offer it.
I recognize it isn’t always as easy as I just made it sound. Sometimes we yearn for support and have no idea how to find it. Sometimes we want to help, but we don’t know how to do it. Our specific plan to address an under-supported reality will be unique to us. Regardless of our specific situation, however, I know well enough that our prayer life can be a huge source of support. When we are able to keep connected to God, hearing and responding through the movement of the Spirit, it can ease almost any burden.
Some burdens, whether they are physical, mental, or spiritual, can weigh on us so heavily that we feel the wear and tear in our bodies. If we do not maintain the spiritual support we need it can lead to further breakdown and injury in any one of those areas. Our prayer life is a part of our spiritual equipment. We have different “tools” at our disposal. There is the formality of things like the Daily Office, the quietness of centering prayer, the meditative state that can come from journaling – there are a whole host of them. Lent is a particularly good season to try these or many other spiritual practices.
If life feels hard, it very well may be. But don’t fool yourself into thinking that it’s all you. It may be that you’re missing the support we all need somewhere along the way. Start with the prayer life and continue looking at things beyond. Find the support you need and you’ll be surprised that things might just get a little easier and less damaging. Feel free to call me or one of our other clergy. We’re in this for the long haul – there are many miles before every single one of us, and we need not go through them with minimal support. On the contrary, we are called to walk together and to walk with our God. For that, I won’t send you to Jacksonville. Instead I would suggest you start right here, with our Christian community. That’s the way that God intends it. Together we can handle just about anything that comes our way.
Tom+
Gracious God, the comfort of al who sorrow, the strength of all who suffer: Let the cry of those in misery and need come to you, that they may find your mercy present with them in all their afflictions; and give us, we pray, the strength to serve them for the sake of him who suffered for us, your Son Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.