Opening the Eyes of My Heart

Lately I'm just amazed at the way that God is working in my life. It's difficult to articulate, but God has clearly been at work bringing certain people closer into my life, or bringing new and unusual characters into my life. By this, I mean people whom I'd never think in a million years would become my friends. It is a beautiful and valuable thing to have friends who are so different from you and who challenge you in different ways. I'm also just amazed at how certain needs, desires, and lessons are being filled and learned through these seemingly 'random' relationships that are either being formed, or that are being developed further.

Through one deepening of a friendship, I've discovered a woman with so much depth, life experiences, and just a pure and sincere love for others. She's been such a blessing sharing her insights and life perspective. I'm learning how life will continually throw a curve ball into so many things and how sometimes the most wonderful blessings are the ones you get once you've truly submitted a desire or want to God and his plans. There's a grace that develops when you decide to let life take it's course, come what may. She's truly an inspiration.

Through a new friendship made recently, I'm learning the lesson of loving without expectations, of encouraging someone through their struggles, and of accepting that more often than not, people don't always know how to receive love in whatever form, gesture, experience, or method that it is given or offered. Sometimes the best way to love is to let go, let God, and to pray for them often; and sometimes the way you want to love is not the way that the other needs to be loved. I hope this friend finds what they need in life.

Through a recent renewing of an old friendship, I'm learning that time often does dissolve disagreements, that time does really show you how strong a friendship really is, and how in time most conflicts were long resolved, only someone needs to make the first move in order to recognize this. It's the only way to carry the relationship to another level of understanding. I love how much closer I am to this friend through all of this. I truly thought the relationship was lost, but it's been rekindled with a stronger bond than before.

And even through old and lost relationships, God is showing me where and how love existed, where and how I was in touch with my spirit (and where I was not), and how I was able to pass that intangible feeling and knowing of love onto other people. He's showing me how to keep trusting that process, to keep trusting that operating from that place of love is really the only thing that matters, and how, in so many unexpected ways, someone else's imprint of love can touch you not by purposeful intentions, but just by 'being' a vessel for God and love to work through you.

He's slowly becoming real to me and that 'personal relationship' that you hear so many people talk about is exactly the thing that I've got now. He's speaking to me, He's showing me who he is, He's opening the eyes of my heart, and He's clearly using me to bless others.

Love ya,
RM

Run #3

Today's run was 3 miles. My pace group ran it in 39:13. About a 13 minute mile using the 3 min run : 1 min walk ratio. Not bad, although for some reason I was struggling a bit today. We also ran it along the beach today instead of through Golden Gate Park like last week. And today was super foggy!! It was nice, actually. It was almost like a small 'getaway' because of the stark contrast to clear, sunny skies on the peninsula.

I finally met Steve, the other guy who had been MIA the last couple of weeks. Turns out he's actually the director of the SF AIDS Foundation, which is the group that I'm running with again. Pretty cool! He's been in the position for only 6 months and this is his first half marathon! I have such admiration for people who just continually challenge themselves in so many ways. I hope to grow old gracefully like that. It's just such a privilege to be sharing this experience with them.

Irma and I grabbed Korean food for lunch when we got back to our side of the bay. MMMmmm... so tasty!! :-)

She and I had a great talk over lunch. I've known her ever since I started working at my company about 6 years ago, but only worked in the same group with her for the last ~2 years, until the recent reorg that switched me to another group a few months ago. We never really had much overlap or spent much time together until recently.

I'm going to miss the next two runs due to my trip, so 4 miles will be run in Houston and 5 miles will be run in Phoenix. Let's hope I stay disciplined enough to keep up with the maintenance runs!

Cheers!