I Need New Shoes

I realized the other day that I have had the same running shoes for about 3 years now. I pay good money for running shoes because I want them to last me a long time, but I think after 3 years the shoes may have seen their best days. I have been exercising a lot more on a regular basis and my shoes have been bothering my shins and feet. A sign of worn out shoes.

You see, running shoes have a big theme in my life. They symbolize a lot about me. I love to run, in every aspect. I absolutely love being outdoors in warm weather on a run (or a walk) and even running around inside of my house or loft being silly. Running has created a lot of fun and beneficial moments for me, but running has also become my enemy.

How well do you know yourself? Do you take a lot of time to get to know what your strengths and weaknesses are? I mean like really being able to claim your strengths and weaknesses for who you are and what you can do. Try getting out paper or sit at the computer and physically write down what you are good at and what you know you are not. There is something very liberating to be able to claim this for yourself. It’s being confident in yourself to know what you can excel, lead, and help others at and humble enough to know you can’t do or be it all. I love going on interviews because when the question is asked, “What are 3 strengths and weaknesses of yours” I totally dominate that question without hesitation. I like to answer it because I know myself that confidently that I claim my character to other people.

Yet running has become a big danger in my life. I am too good at it. When something goes wrong in my life, I run. From people, from the phone, from my living space, and even from myself. Because if I run, I can get away from the immediate circumstance. I pretend that it changes my world. I know it doesn’t actually change anything about my circumstances, but I pretend it does. I can dream and pretend that running away will be a fix it. It’s like an addiction. I can’t stop.



We all do this in some way shape or form. Everyone has the thing they cling to when hard/confusing/broken times abound. It may be people. It may be drugs. It could be solitude. Or it could be running. It is human nature that we find a mechanism that will help us find relief in the broken. Some are better at dealing with it than others. Some cry out to God, some turn their back on God, some try and makes sense of situations when most the time we really can’t and we won't. It doesn’t really matter how we do it, but we all do. But you know, this is me being honest. I want new running shoes.