A study in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology concluded that you do not have to run very much – or very fast – to get major health benefits. It said that running even 5-10 minutes each day at slow speeds (less than 6 miles per hours) produced markedly reduced risks of death from all causes, including cardiovascular disease.
As a young girl I used to love to run. Running became markedly less important as a teenager. By the time I was a mother of three and taking care of parents and parents-in-law, I had neither the time nor the energy to run.
Now at soon-to-be 77 years of age, I wish I had kept up that girlish delight in running. I am sure, also, that I could probably go online and find a host of people who took up running AT 77 years of age. I will not be one of them.
But as I read the article, I realized that I am still running. The Scriptures speak repeatedly of “running a [spiritual] race.” For example:
Hebrews 12:1: “Let us run with endurance the race that lies before us.” [HCSB]
1 Corinthians 9:24: “Run in such a way to win the prize.” [HCSB]
I am still running a race. Perhaps not as much nor as fast, but I am still running. And running that spiritual race certainly does have major “spiritual” health benefits! To that, I can attest.
So, beloved, hang in there. You may not be as fast as you once were but keep running!
