I literally walked and ran through the month of September (2025), with a focus on my 9th “fast,” preparing for the next 5 K I would run (October 11); it was my second ever to run with the first one in May of this year. As I increased my workouts, my confidence grew. I was excelling even past my dear hubby (the real runner of the family). Without knee pain I thought I was finally in the clear. However, the dear hubby assessed that we needed hills for training on since our race would include several. My knee kept up the good work until two weeks prior to the race; it could be quiet no longer and advocated for no more hills but instead, rest. After a couple of days of rest, I gradually began running again, however, pain tagged along. So, we made the decision that I would stick to the mile instead of trying to compete in the 5 K.

Last month I prayed for a repositioning of my heart through pursuing God. Gratefully, God answered my prayer through the little book The Pursuit of God by A.W. Tozer as well as a focus on Psalm 86:11-13: teach me truth and give me an undivided mind to fear Your name. And I believe His role for me in the race was one of a supporting role for cheering others on. God faithfully surrounds me with His goodness, and I want to surround others with that same goodness. And so, after I made the loop coming around from running the mile, instead of running toward the finish line, I ran toward the people coming up the hill hoping to see my group. It took a while longer, but I was so proud as my dear hubby made his way up the hill, and at 41 minutes he finished the race FIRST!! (of course, “first” of those in our family😉). I soon met the others and helped carry their no-longer needed coats and cheered them on as they took off with renewed energy to finish the race strongly. I even ran the final hill to complete my own little victory.

I had sincerely prayed for my knee to recover to run the entire 5 K and yet I knew that my heart needed to trust God and not lean on my limited understanding (Proverbs 3:5). Disappointments will always come but it will always be the better part of wisdom to refocus and trust the Lord with all our heart. My heart must be continually tuned (and sometimes re-tuned) to the Master’s heart and my fixed gaze trusting and having faith that what He allows is best. If my heart is totally committed to Him, I will accept what He sends as from a loving Father who knows what is best. Yes, in this world there are many disappointments, how we handle them shows the world which direction our gaze is fixed.

A.W. Tozer admonishes: “Faith is a redirecting of our sight, a getting out of the focus of our own vision and getting God into focus. Sin has twisted our vision inward and made it self-regarding…Faith looks out instead of in and the whole [of] life falls into line.”