Comparison

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 Years ago, we started a tradition of adding memories to a jar which is then opened in the new year as a reminder of what happened throughout the previous year. Due to a snowy Sunday here in Pennsylvania, and being "stuck" inside, we got around to reading the memories from 2024. This memory from February 8, 2024, was read; "Mom went back to L.O.G. [Lancaster Orthopedic Group] with pain in her right leg. There is a possible lateral meniscus tear. Treatment will begin with five to six weeks of PT. If no improvement, an MRI will be ordered. He highly recommended no running. It was hard news to hear. God is in control always and in all things." 

This news is actually what prompted me to begin this blog. I had no idea how PT was going to go. Was it really going to be the end of my running years? If you have been along on my journey so far, you know that the first PT didn't go so well. That's when I switched running for riding bike. Even walking at a faster speed was difficult and painful. Then my husband found Competitive Edge in California. I signed up for their virtual program beginning in mid-April 2024. It was still some months later until I could begin running. Breathing while running was hard. Building muscle and endurance was hard and is still a work in progress.

If I'm honest, I can still become frustrated and almost depressed with my running speed or, when comparing myself to running friends, with the fact that my miles never seem quite as impressive. Why do we do this to ourselves? There will always be someone better than us no matter what we attempt to do. If we adopt this mindset of rating our work on others' accomplishments, we will always fall short. However, if we stop and give proper respect to our own progress, we will see the remarkable things we have been able to accomplish. "Let each person examine his own work, and then he can take pride in himself alone, and not compare himself with someone else." Galatian 6:4 (CSB)

Here I am in January 2025 running intervals of 3.1 miles three to four times a week, mostly without any pain. I'm not where I want to be as a runner, but I am learning to be consistent on a day-to-day basis, and I will rejoice in that accomplishment. As the memory from February stated, "God is in control always and in all things." I will continue to run the race God has set before me. May I finish each day with a "Well done, good and faithful servant! You were faithful over a few things: I will put you in charge of many things. Share your master's joy." Matthew 25:23 (CSB)

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