The Unexpected - The One Thing You Can Count On

Last Saturday morning, I woke up to a beautiful summer day.  Got out of bed, ate my banana, and picked up my keys to head out the door for my long run.  As I picked up my phone, I saw that I had missed a call from my step mom.  She's not a morning person, so I immediately returned the call.  Although not an emergency, it was very clear that I was needed at her house and my long run for the week was suddenly derailed.

The unexpected.  For a planner like me, it always throws me a bit.   So, how do I recover?  I found that the best way to bounce back is to stop, take a step back and keep the event in perspective.  Yes, my long run was interrupted, but that didn't mean that I couldn't run at all.  Later in the day, I was able to get in a few miles on the treadmill and rescheduled the long run for Monday.  Not a big deal.

But the unexpected doesn't have to be something negative.  According to my training schedule, I was to run a 5K race today.  Well, I didn't have a 5K race to enter, so my husband suggested that we run the Aiea Loop Trail.  Great.  But as we drove up to the park, it started to rain.   I don't mean sprinkle, I mean RAIN.  I was not up for this unexpected turn of events.  But my husband is not one to be deterred.  And really, I did want to run this trail.  So after we let it slow down a bit, we headed out.  And do you know what the most unexpected thing was about this run?  I loved it.  We slogged through mud up to our laces.  The rain was cool and felt great.  I ended up running not much slower than the pace I would have on the road.  The beauty of the trail, the sound of the birds, the challenge of dodging roots and puddles and the fun of running with my best friend was exhilarating.  And I almost missed it because of the unexpected rain.

Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy.  For you know that when your faith is tested, 

your endurance has a chance to grow.

James 1:2-3 (NLT)

There's no way to avoid it.  The unexpected is going to happen.  So when it does, I wont panic, I wont quit.  I'll just look for the opportunity to be pleasantly surprised.