Life To The Fullest

Here we are! On DAY 15 of the Run & Not Grow Weary blog series!
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Thriving

I can’t remember where I first heard it, but this may be a question you’ve heard before in so many words:

“Why merely survive when you can thrive?”

Well, truth is sometimes we have no choice. In life there are some fabulous highs, sure. There are also some really horrible lows that we just have white-knuckle our way through. But I don’t think that’s the point of the question. I think the question is actually getting at whether or not we’re being passive or being active in authoring our lives. Are we letting life happen to us and just getting by, or are we working to make the most out of our time?

I see thriving as a mindset, not a set of circumstances. Thriving is a choice to make lemonade instead of leaving a permanent pucker on your face. Thriving is squeezing the most out of the life you have. Keeping this perspective helps me approach life better and running helps me keep this perspective. Running rewards me for actively squeezing the most out of my day and reminds me to be intentional about doing something to reach my goals, and not just dreaming about them.

“People sometimes sneer at those who run every day,
claiming they’ll go to any length to live longer.
But don’t think that’s the reason most people run.
Most runners run not because they want to live longer,
but because they want to live life to the fullest.”
-Haruki Murakami

A Full Life

Having a full life is great motivation for running and for faith in Christ. In the same way that I don’t run in order to live longer, but to live better…I don’t believe in and follow Christ to have a good life or even eternal life. I believe because He gives me new life, one full of purpose and joy.

“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy;
I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.”
-John 10:10

Jesus didn’t mean an easy life, full of good fortune. He didn’t mean that all our pain would go away when we believe in Him. In fact the Bible is pretty clear that if you believe, you can expect trouble. No, Christ was talking about a new spiritual life which adds a whole new dimension to our existence.

This new spiritual life makes it possible for us to actively pursue God and the full life He wants us to have. Some refer to this lifelong, messy process as sanctification and it has lots of ups and downs. We try to live like Christ and mess up and learn and grow and keep trying. We are able to find joy in this struggle and actively co-author our new life story with God’s help.

So here again I find it useful to keep the “thriving mindset”, using running to remind me that a life of faith is an ultra marathon, and because of Christ, I get to actively train to reach the finish line and not just sit around and dream about it.

Thing to think about on your next run: