Crawl, Walk, Run
Created in God’s Image
As I’m writing this, Duluth’s annual Grandma’s Marathon will be run this weekend. The great news is we can all participate…to some degree. Some may be running, others walking ( some even crawling). But everyone who would like to, can do something, including handing out water at the finish line or sitting in the stands and cheering the runners on. Participation can be very involved and complex, or it can be passive and observational.
I want to confess something right here and now: I am not a runner. Sure, I run all the time, things can get crazy busy sometimes, but I find no pleasure in what others call “pleasure running.” Put a basketball or football in my hands and I will do my best to score and win a game. Better yet, place a soccer ball at my feet and I will get crazy competitive. Running just seems cruel and pointless.
Isn’t it strange how different people can be? One person’s relaxation is another’s chore. It’s almost as if God created us with such individual care that no two persons are exactly alike. Viva la Difference! Viva is simply saying ‘Long Live,’ ‘Celebrate!’ Celebrate our differences because we are uniquely, complexly and wonderfully made. Celebrate because as much as our world gets nervous when our differences are exposed, we are also seeing the wonder of our creator God. For God often moves outside the norms of our otherwise conformative world.
Do you ever wonder what moved God to create the world that He/She did? It seems to me that the box I have imagined for God does not fit the creator I encounter in most circumstances in life. God seems content to push my envelope and expand my horizons. God seems to want to take me from a crawling infant to a walking person to a running athlete. Ever moving faster so that I can face more of His/Her wonders and expand my understanding of what He/She is all about.
At some point crawling or walking or running doesn’t even matter. What is important is that I know that being created is being created in God’s image and I can accept who I am just knowing that all of life offers moments for discovering and seeing God through the lens that is my life and your life. All of life offers a new perspective and angle from which this infinite God can reveal Him/Herself to each of us. The creation miracle never ends, it just keeps going and expanding and absorbing us. So, enough philosophy! Just get out there and crawl or walk or run. Enjoy life and enjoy the summer!
