Thorn In My Side

After a long day, I decided to go with a small group to go kayaking on shell island. It was a whole lot of fun. I thoroughly enjoy kayaking and I truly enjoyed finding some pretty neat shells. Then we had a redneck family reunion theme for the social tonight. We all dressed up like hillbilly's and drank water, lemonade, and sweet tea out of mason jars. Many made some fun deserts. We played a few games like wheel barrel, 3 legged race, egg toss, and water melon eating contest. It was a whole lot of fun. I partook in volleyball and a group of us guys played a game of makeshift soccer. By the end of the night I was exhausted. Poor Natalie didn't get to enjoy any of the above mentioned. She was feeling a little under the weather last night before bed and had chills and sweats all day at work. Including a nasty head cold and a stuffed up nose and swollen throat and they wouldn't let her off work. So as soon as she got off she headed to bed for rest and relaxation. I decided that she should not come to the social tonight and partake in the fun, but rest up for the weekend, because we don't get much breaks here on project. I brought her back, her favorite, home made banana bread pudding. I arrived, made her a bowl, and drove back to the hotel to give it to her. It really made her night, but keep her in your prayers and hopefully she'll have a speedy recovery. Todays quiet time for me was on 2 Corinthians 12:8-10, a really great passage. It is speaking of Paul's thorn in his side. Many speculate on what it was, but no one knows for sure. Either way it was something awful that God would not take from him. God told him, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." This is hard to swallow, it got me thinking of my problems. We all have them, but what is my thorn? Sadly I know what it is and I pray for it daily that God will take it from me. It is my running. I know that might seem strange to you, that either that is something so small and insignificant or that I am not good at running. Here is where it is a problem for me. As I have said previously, I have yet to miss one workout or run this summer on project, and before project. My running schedule is the same as The Citadel cross country teams, and I have a "coach" I check in with. My diet is superb and I don't go off it. I train harder than anyone I know, and I still am awful at running. I am not being hard on myself either, my times are not to standard. Why is this important? I branched infantry in the Army, and in the infantry you have to be able to run, and run fast. I am also going to be a platoon leader, key word leader. This means I have to be the fastest, you must lead from the front and I truly believe that. Right now, with my times I am not. Also for ranger school you must pass the first phase by running a 5 mile run in under 40 minutes. I am not there and I need to be. I do not merely rely on my own strength, but I pray for it multiple times a day. This is important to me and I trust God. I actually talked to me Dad about this yesterday and here I am now today reading these verses. The scripture said that if you struggle, remember God's grace is enough. His power is shown in our weakness. I must boast in my weakness to show Christ's power. I need to delight in my weakness, insults, hardships, persecutions, and difficulties. (This is not beyond just my running, but all aspects of my life). When I am weak, then I am strong. That is the verse that put me at peace. I am human, and a poor weak creature on my own, but in my weaknesses I can rely on Him to make me strong. I really don't know how non-Christians do it. I can't imagine a life without hope, and comfort, unconditional love, and strength from my Father/God. I may be weak at running but my strength is in my savior, and this makes me strong. This is what I want, but His will be done. It is easy to say, but no matter what my thorn is, I will never be mad at God in any circumstance. He is my rock, my provider, everything I have is from and for Him. It is all a blessing, the good and the bad. Again, much easier said, but I meditated on this and I am at peace. I will keep training, and praying and God will provide for me as He sees fit. What he thinks is necessary for me in my life. Please first off pray for my running, that it will improve and that I will continue to stay motivated and not be discouraged. God is teaching me discipline and instilling in me perseverance. Also pray that I can keep this positive attitude, it is easy today, but it could be hard tomorrow. I trust in the Lord my God with all my heart, all my soul, all my mind, and all my strength. I pray you do to.

Serving Him,

Daniel