slow....

"The one thing that makes me doubt God's existence is how painfully slow my sanctification process is." John Piper

As I ran my 4.5 miles today (and yes, I ran the whole thing...whooop whoop!!!!), this quote kept coming to my mind. It's frustrating to me how painfully slow progress is. The progress of sanctification yes, but also getting into "half-marathon shape," healing from past pains, etc, etc. Everything just seems to take soooo long. In this microwave, fast food, high-speed internet, DVR world I live in, it's hard to take life (and the process of life) slowly. I want to shed those 20 pounds overnight, be healed yesterday, see Jesus NOW! But, no, I'm left to hunger and thirst, to make it through long runs and bad commercials.

One of my wise friends says how she enjoys the training more than race day. WHAT! That's hard for me to fathom. I want the large crowds cheering me on, the gun shot start, and a finish line with, of course, a medal. But, at last, I'm left with early morning runs by myself, although I often recreate the large crowds and finish line in my head (whoops, did I share to much and now look crazy?!).

But, what if true joy isn't in the success of crossing a finish line?
What if true joy is found in the training?

While the finish line is sweet, the hard journey to get there is sweeter, whether it's a race or the long process of life.