Trials and Success

Part one: A continuation of my recent debate (how to know when a trial is a trial?)...

After talking with several Christian friends, getting counsel from my pastor, and confirmation from my Bible study, I think I have a bit of an answer... sort of. It seems that a great place to start is to determine if you are really in absolute obedience everywhere else in your life. The "trial" might just be God's way of trying to get your attention, with a big arrow pointing at that other thing. Of course, if you truly are in obedience everywhere else, then the "trial" may probably be a real trial, which you need to endure with absolute faith. I have to say that my pastor was great here. Looking at other areas of obedience/disobedience can be difficult when you are in the middle of it, you may not be objective enough. He was really able to see the forest through the trees, while I am busy climbing trees. I'm not sure what that metaphor means, but I like it.


Part two: Social experiments in the rain...

I went jogging today and it was fantastic. A personal best. I jogged for one hour straight, about 4.5 miles. Granted, a 13 minute mile is not very fast at all, but I'm going for endurance here. An hour is the longest I've ever gone at one stretch - no walking at all. This is hobby is putting me at risk of great pride - I think I'm just about the coolest jogger in the world right now. AN HOUR!!! I'm pretty sure I can do anything right now. Roar!

My husband (who wishes to remain nameless, funny guy...although I've remained nameless, so I suppose I don't blame him) came rollerblading with me and at about 40 minutes into it, he went back to the car and was going to drive back to pick me up further down the path. We were jogging on the Cedar River trail and were well past the Maple Valley golf course, so it gets pretty...empty along the road. About 10 minutes into my solitude, it started sprinkling, and then more sprinkling. I loved it. I don't think I've ever jogged in the rain before. It was a beautiful spring sprinkle. And then it got heavier and heavier. I didn't really have much choice, so I just decided to find the humor in it and I thought it was pretty funny. Thankfully, I had a hat on, so I really wasn't getting that wet. When I was just coming up to my hour mark, there was an intersection ahead that I was supposed to wait at (very convenient location too... we didn't know that it would line up so well with my time). I was getting extremely wet at this point....it was RAINING. God is so good - Steve told me to wait at the next intersection, which happened to be this one, which happened to be at the hour mark, and just happened to have a big tree just inside the turn. Shelter! It actually was a big driveway to a trailer park. It wasn't too ghetto or anything. So, I waited in the rain under the big tree at the trailer park. As I waited, I noticed that there were lots of nice cars coming in and out - for some reason these trailer park people had nice cars. Lots of minivans and other family cars. I realized this was a great social experiment. What would you do if you were driving by a young woman who is alone, wearing jogging clothes, on a jogging trail, in the pouring rain, and hiding under a big tree? There are no parking lots nearby. We are sort of in the middle of no where. I was a little surprised that not one person stopped to ask if I was ok, needed help, needed a ride, or even just needed to use their cell phone. Not one. I thought that was pretty sad. We've let our fear of strangers get in the way of social decency, I think. I very easily could have really been stranded, since it was sunny when I left. I wonder if I would have stopped and asked.

And then I gave the dog a bath by myself. See, I can do anything!