Healing

What is healing?  For my running, that might mean being able to finally do the longer runs I’m used to.  Being able to head out the door and run for 3 hours or so without worrying if I might have to detour back home is a good measure of my physical healing. Yes, the miles don’t roll by as easily or as fast as they have in the past, but that will get easier.  Anyone in Texas who is trying to put in a long run in the middle of the day at this time of year is really just surviving the run, anyway.  Regardless, I am grateful to be able to do it. 

I work in a hospital, and you might think that I get to see people cured all the time.  Objectively, that’s not necessarily true.  Acute care hospitals are generally not a place where you are admitted with an illness and come out “cured.”  That does happen, but most of the time it’s only the start of the process.  I might get to spend a few days or maybe even weeks with patients, but they might be fighting their diseases for months, maybe even the rest of their lives.  I rarely get to see how everything turns out for these people. 

Even though I rarely get to see the outcomes for the people I am with in the hospital, I have seen a great amount of healing.  When does that happen?  It happens when a patient is calmed by someone sitting with them for a few moments and listening.  It happens when someone gets a hug from a coworker.  It happens when someone comes along and wakes you up by saying just what was needed.

Healing does happen with comfort in the early stages.  We have to have comfort to calm ourselves enough to process what is going on in our lives.  Later on, healing seems to be different.  A better description might be one of change or transformation.  At some point, maybe healing looks like someone with heart disease who is (almost) happy about eating broccoli.  Maybe it is someone who realizes they can turn away from addiction.  The most wonderful change I see is when someone realizes what a gift life is and decides to live each day with a renewed joy. 

I fully recognize that healing from a running injury pales in comparison to some of the suffering in the world.  In fact, I have had some guilt about the time I have spent whining about it.  However, what does my healing look like besides how far I can run now?  It’s a realization that I need to do other things besides going running to take care of my body.  It’s a new joy I have when I head out the door for a run.  It’s a new hunger to find out what happens wherever my feet take me.    

Funeral Plans

Don't Worry.  I'm not dying any faster than the rest of you.  I'm just planning ahead.  You might want to try this.  It will help bring a focus to your life.  

Music: 

“Lean On Me” by Bill Withers:  This was the song of thanksgiving selected by myself and the other members I went to Cursillo with.  In addition, it is just one of my favorite songs and really conveys the Gospel message in action.

“Prayer of St Francis”  by Sebastian Temple:  Again, one of my favorite hymns because it conveys how to approach others  or situations as perhaps Jesus would.  Really, this is a great reminder for me when my instinct is to do the opposite at times.

“Canticle of Mary” by Luke:  Any variant will do for this as long as it maintains the integrity of the scripture.  I have prayed this prayer nightly during evening prayer for years.  This is really a beautiful song to read every night and as a convert to the Catholic faith, really helped by develop a love of Mary.

General Theme: Live life with the “Joy of the Gospel” to quote Pope Francis. 

Readings:

OT – Isiah 58:7-10  Some real examples for how to lead a Christian life.  Clothe the naked, feed the hungry, etc.  Having an internal sincerity about your faith and your actions are connected. 

Psalm – Psalm 139  God knows me, truly.  He is always with me.  And you too.

NT – Phillipians 2:1-15 or Colossians 3:12-17: Live your life with self-giving love, as Jesus taught us to lover our neighbor as ourselves, even before ourselves.

Gospel – John 13:1-17 Jesus washes the feet of the disciples.  I’m really torn here between several Gospels passages.  I also considered the salt of the earth/light of the world (Matt 5:13-16) and the great commandment (Matt 22:37-40) but I think these ideas can be incorporated in the themes of the homily.

Themes:

I would prefer that the homily focus on how we can live out Christ’s message of love in this world rather than focusing on the resurrection.  The great commandment tells us what we ought to do, love our neighbor.  The salt of the earth/light of the world message tells us that we are called to show that love to the world.  In a sense, we are the image of God to others in our words and deeds.  The washing of the feet is probably my favorite example of how Jesus calls us to love our neighbor.  The act is one of humble service.  I suppose that I can appreciate the image from my experience working in a hospital.  There is nothing exactly exciting about washing dirty, stinky feet (or other parts for that matter).  So in a sense, it is really easy for me to see how it is a totally self-giving act of love. 

All of the readings give the intended impression that we are called to action if we are disciples of Jesus Christ.  I don’t think it is required that you go wash feet, feed the poor, or become the director of some great program at your church.  Perhaps the best thing to do is live your life fully present with the joy of the gospel.  That might just mean that you share that joy with those around you every day. 

Other boring but important details – No flowers, no viewing.  Burial site is already purchased at Cope Cemetery.  I would like to be cremated and buried next to Sonya.  If you want to have a small get together at the house or parish hall afterward – please have someone make the chocolate sheet cake that Sonya makes.  I don’t really like chocolate cake but I like the one I always called the “Texas funeral cake.”  I love you all! 

2014 Possum Kingdom Trail Run Report - 20K

This was my second time to run the Possum Kingdom Trail Run put on by Dave Hanenburg and the endurancebuzzadventures family.  It's a great race and a good excuse to get out of the city a little bit.  Last year, I was healthy and in decent shape, and was able to finish the 52 miler.  I even considered it more or less a training run for a 50 miler in the mountains a couple of months later.  That “training run” turned out to be a lot more challenging than I envisioned, but I was able to put my head down and finish the race. 

This year, I've battled a foot injury for a number of months and was glad just to be able to toe the line for this one, picking the 20K as the “easier” distance.  It was only easy in that the distance was one that I knew wouldn’t flare up my injury.  It turns out that running these shorter distances is pretty darn hard since everyone seems to think that we ought to run faster since we don’t have to go as far.    

In some sense, this kind of race was kind of good for me.  I let out a lot of the frustration of dealing with an injury.  Frustration at having to pass on a couple of races because I knew they would probably make the problem worse and frustration at not being able to run as much as I am used to…and so I went ahead and poured some of that into the run.  Before the race, I thought of how some psalms are full of praise and thanksgiving but some are also full of lamentation, even anger.  So I let some of that out during the run.  I think that’s normal as long as it’s momentary, not eating you inside, or affecting how you treat others.  In my case, I just channeled that energy in to the run. 

At the same time, there was great joy in finally going out to race again.  For one thing, it was great to see old friends and meet some new ones.  Also, I really enjoyed trying to run fast.  The course has an interesting mix of both surfaces and terrain and you have to choose when and where to push.  For me, this meant running hard up the hills and then letting gravity take over on the downhill.  One of the real moments of joy included really letting my feet fly running down hill to the point that I could hear and feel the breeze going by my ears.  Maybe you remember that sensation from your childhood when you ran as fast as you could everywhere you went.  That’s what it felt like.

One bonus to turning 40 this year…I won my age group!