but that wasn't the end of the story...

this is a sequel post to my previous post titled,
"i hate shopping"
i didn't plan on it being a prequel
but God said otherwise...
so here is the rest of the story.

i've started running again.
i started with 3 miles.
and then 4.
now i run 5 miles on a...
semi-regular basis.
this is nothing short of a miracle
because my attitude towards exercise
has been one of disgust
ever since i started college.

my parents always insisted that regular exercise
is VITAL. even if my first priority is studies.
i've slowly learned this my own way.
since my last post,
a series of very fortunate events
has unfolded
to make me change my mind.
and see things with a new attitude.

1. i remembered a sermon my cousin gave (hes a youth pastor)
about spiritual disciplines.
he included daily exercise as one.
his argument:
if you're not willing to invest in your physical health
and go out and exercise regularly,
you're probably not going to be opening up the Bible
and investing time reading and studying it.
while this logic is not completely accurate,
i got the gist of what he was saying.
and i found that to be true in my life.

2. i needed to know God's theology about exercise.
so i did my own Bible study.
on laziness. and body.
and i kept seeing over and over again
the themes of
a) laziness = foolish
and b) i should be taking care of my body
because tis the place Jesus resides in me.

3. i ran into my high school
softball coach//basketball coach//cisco teacher//lifelong mentor
maybe.. a week ago... or so.
i might mention that
he's one of the few teachers i've known since middle school
and one of the even fewer Christ-centered teachers of daegu.
we went to the same church for yearrrrrs.
he's such an awesome person,
he's always looked after my sister and me
since.. forever. and i really value his advice.
we talked for like 30 minutes in the PX.
and at one point he asked me if i did any sports.
and, in order not to be rebuked, i said i did im softball.
and he said,
"oh yeah? that's good. it's always mind, body, soul.
you know at a place like your school,
all they emphasize is mind, mind, mind.
but you need that balance: mind, body, and soul."
it was such a 7th-grade health class lesson.
but when he said it,
it was an epiphany for me.
maybe that's why i struggled so much the past year.
because i hadn't invested in my body...

4. the guest room, aka my room, in my parents house
has a dresser full of my sister and my clothes,
leftovers of what we couldn't take with us to college.
i was sitting on the bed one day
when i looked on top of that dresser
and saw all the trophies.
and the three big plaques on it were mine.
and all three of them were for my hs achievements
in none other than cross country.
MVP, Scholar-Athelete, All-Conference
for TWO years, each.
my collection of bling in my 5 years of varsity running...
i don't mean to brag,
but dude, i was FAST.
one of the top 15 girl runners in all of Korea for 2 years.
AND valedictorian of my school.
no wonder the other girls hated me.
and it was when i looked back on that time
that i realized that God had done something
IMPOSSIBLE in my life.
how crazy is it that i enjoyed RUNNING,
of all things, and had excelled in it.
the thing that so many other people detest.
i learned so many lessons through it
and it was so much a part of who i am
that i even wrote my college admissions essay about it.
and even though during hs,
running replaced Jesus in my life,
running gave me a goal, a great work ethic,
and kept me sane and super positive.

and through my recent runs,
i realized it's still a passion that i have.
i LOVE racing.
and i LOVE training.
timing myself,
pushing myself to the limit,
seeing myself become faster and faster...
and when i run, i don't think of how hard it is
and how tired i am.
i think of life. i pray. i enjoyyy it.
that's my time of relaxing
and receiving from God.
i just think maybe this excitement
and desire to run is God-given.
and maybe God still wants to do something with that.

so with an open mind and open heart,
i've started training.
not because i want to lose weight.
for a triathlon, i say.
but for what?
i actually don't know.
maybe i'm training to run the race of life...