God is in every step I take and every breath I breathe. He is there to guide me through the rough trails and glide with me when I find myself on the easy and flat ones. In every small victory and harsh defeat, He is there to wipe away my tears and pick me back up. It is through spiritual discernment that I have come to understand the significance of these blessings in my life and how truly close I am to God when I am doing what I love the most: running.
There are many parallels between what running provides me as a spiritual woman and how I hope to live out God’s mission for me. St. Paul captures it perfectly in 2 Corinthians 10 when he writes, “I delight in my weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” The relation between human gifts, such as athletic talent, and God is best made visible through human struggle. Fruits of gifts require struggle, but with struggle comes vulnerability, courage, truth, and intentionality: all attributes a person of faith would only hope to grow in. For me, running has led to some moments of weakness, and in order to heal, I had to open my arms and embrace God’s help. It is through this mode of acceptance and willingness that, with God’s assistance, I come to perfect my weaknesses and be a stronger disciple.
Analogous to how contemplative prayer provides a structure or rhythm to a person’s life, running adds additional layers to these for me. For not only do I pray when I am running, but I never run without praying. Prayer and the community I find within my teammates are two of the ways I stay grounded spiritually. Regardless of varying religious affiliations, my teammates motivate me to be more God-like on and off the track through actions such as organizing Charity Drives or mentoring an underclassman who needs support. And it is through these activities that I feel the Holy Spirit alive in me.
Although externally it may seem as though the lessons, experiences, training, and mileage have formed me to become the Boston College student-athlete that I am today, internally I know it is accredited more to a small but significant perspective shift. Despite not wanting to admit it, I fell into the trap that many spiritual people do, taking a gift for granted. I can admit I am guilty sometimes of the sin of spiritual complacency when it comes to running. I do thank God for it at least once, if not twice a day, through action and speech, yet I have rarely challenged myself to discover all that I can receive from my gift and all that I can return. If I was asked two months ago why the gift of running is so special to me, I would have responded and said, “Because it allows me to be a better version of myself every day.” Still agreeing today, I would add, “Because it fills me up and makes me hungry for the Eucharist; that is a gift I will never take for granted.” To realize that God has entrusted me with this gift is what makes every step worth it.
“God is good All The Time, and All The Time God is good.” -eight year and twenty-two-year-old Sarah’s pre-race sentiment.
- Finding God Through a Gift - April 27, 2023