Andrew Gray.. Running up that Hill
Running Up That Hill (Without Kate Bush) by Andrew Gray
That song by Kate Bush “Running Up That Hill” was a song I never really was terribly fond of. Maybe it’s just the song or maybe it’s reminding me of something in running I despised doing…The pain, the breathlessness and the heavy legs were a high price and this was supposed to be enjoyment! Hills are certainly a challenge and for any runner never plain sailing. If we could run our hills as easy as we could run on the flat, they wouldn’t be much of a challenge.
Taking up running again in 2018 after a 7 year gap due to an injury and albeit cheap excuses I was ready to go again but was I ready for the hills. Absolutely not! I avoided them until I began running with three other like minded people who I met online through a local running page. If anything good came from the Pandemic it was meeting these guys who I can call the best of friends. They picked a hilly ten mile route one Sunday and it became our go to route on many occasions. Every great movie has a tag line and if this run with friends had a tag line it was “Hills pay the Bills” (Andy’s words not mine).
Running up hills built strength, stamina and also gave us more confidence to go quicker up them over time. All PB’s were smashed by the four of us in 2021 and we only met in 2020!
A nice running story really but it did get thinking hills are challenges and life is full of hilly challenges but as in running it’s the way we approach those challenges in life that matters. When we see challenges coming do we ran away from them or do we put our total trust in God. Easy to give that message but much harder to put that message into practice.
Any runner has had many days when it all is a struggle. On days like that it’s our training that paysoff and we get to the end, ready to take that experience into another run or race. God loves us but as he knows and Jesus knew when he walked the earth challenges will come. We must not run away from them. God wants us by the help of the Holy Spirit to overcome these challenges whether they be work related, relationship related, mental health related or running related.
I am an officer in the Junior Section of the Boys Brigade here in Newtownards in Northern Ireland and on Wednesday past I was talking with the boys of being Sure and Steadfast in God’s love or as I put it to them firm and secure in God’s love. If we are firm and secure in Christ’s love we are safe for all eternity.
Hills pay the bills running wise and I preach it to other runners now. Christ dying on the cross though paid the penalty for all my sins and the wrongs I have done. Will I or will we speak of this as readily as we speak about our running? That’s the challenge to myself.
To finish this blog (I haven’t written one like this before so this is faith in action quite literally) I just want to say that talking of Christ must always be done in a loving manner. If we genuinely care for people we will try and point them to a loving saviour. I heard that in an interview of Rico Tice the lead pastor at All Souls London lately. Will I run up that hill? Will you?
