Running with God

I started running today.

Not as in "I started a new exercise routine." I was walking, and all of a sudden I got the urge to run. So I ran a while. And then I went back to walking.

I don't like to run. In fact, except for the time I joined the 50-Mile Club in junior high school (what, on earth, possessed me to do that?), I've avoided running. I've thought about walking a marathon, or a half-marathon, but certainly not running one. I hate to run. So why did I start running?

I wonder if it was because of God? Several months ago I was talking to my spiritual director about my desire to lose weight and exercise. She asked if I had prayed about it. I said no. I thought that asking God to help me lose weight meant asking God to magically take all the extra weight away, or allow me to continue to eat the way I want while still losing weight. But asking God for help doesn't have to mean that. It could mean that I still have to work hard and say no to things I'd like, but that God will help me do it. So I asked God to help me say no to the nachos last week and the third slice of pizza on Friday. And I asked God to help me go out and walk last week. And God did help. And today I even started running.