Take advantage of what you've been given.

Many of you will know that over the past few years I have become a runner, thanks to some friends and fellow bloggers. (Ethos, This Guy Falls Down, Normal Rockstar) I’ve even been able to complete a marathon! My sister (running blog and normal blog) tells me all this running inspired her to start running too and now we are planning on running the Toronto Marathon together in October. How cool is that?

Over the weekend we were able to run our 20 mile training run together. It was a great run! We finished it in 3 hours and 20 something minutes. Way to go Krista!! It was the longest run she’s ever done, and doing it in that time is awesome.

Being healthy enough to put on some shoes and go out for a run is such a huge blessing. It got me thinking about how many people waste their perfectly good health. If we believe that everything we have is a gift from God then why would we squander it? I guess it just happens eventually. Maybe not enough focus or direct thought. I don’t know. I know I squander my brain often. I know I also squander time that I could be using to improve my relationship with God. What a waste!!

But if we have the ability to go out for a walk or play tennis or golf or swim or run then spending our nights at home in front of the tube (TV or computer) just doesn’t seem right.

I know that when I give a gift to someone and I see him or her using it, it makes me happy. Imagine the confusion you would have if you gave someone a nice new car but they rarely used it. On top of that they never washed it or got the oil changed. I’d be left scratching my head.

I don’t suppose God is scratching His head as His understanding is way beyond ours but at the same time not using our gifts can’t be all that pleasing to Him.

All that said, we all have many gifts; things like family, friends, good health, an income, a church, a pet, and different abilities like reading, writing, playing music, playing a sport, leading some social activity. We have much to be thankful for. Please don’t let opportunities to take advantage of your gifts pass you by.

GL