making sense of life in the details
There’s an inside track at a local university and when the weather turns cold or slippery, I go there to run. It’s a boring, yet peaceful eighth mile loop and I go round and round it until my time is done, listening to my music and never worrying about traffic or which direction to turn.... Continue Reading →
I pray, like, a lot. Maybe it’s my Catholic upbringing or my anxious nature, but basically I am literally living out that impossible sounding admonition from scripture to “pray continually.” (1Thessalonians 5:17) When I wake up, I get on my knees just for a second or two to give the day to God. I do... Continue Reading →
It took almost more energy than I had to pick up my rosary beads. My relationship with intercessory prayer has been complicated lately, and I’m not really sure what I believe about it, but on the eve of a friend’s surgery, I moved through the beads and dedicated the time to my friend, his family,... Continue Reading →
On the way home from a walk or run, I’ll often stop at the statue of Mary in front of our neighborhood chapel and pray. If I stand in front of her, I put my hands in hers as I ask for her intercession on my two children. I pray that she will be a... Continue Reading →
December 23, 2017 Dear God, As we come to the end of 2017, I am reflecting on this year’s word: story. There certainly were ups and downs in these last twelve months, and things I couldn’t have predicted. At the start of the year, I could not have guessed how much I would rely on... Continue Reading →
I went for a run on a freezing day and I was surrounded by ghosts. Surprisingly, I can run longer when the air is cold and the sun is bright, and it was a day just like that, so I took myself down the road past my kids’ old elementary school. The school is closed... Continue Reading →
This fall, my daughter took a half-year course called “A Hero’s Journey”, which delved into the theory of Joseph Campbell that all of our favorite stories resonate with us because they follow the same narrative pattern. A hero is separated from what she knows, is tested, receives help, battles and wins, and returns home, not... Continue Reading →
It’s no new revelation that running mirrors life, but I am learning that long-distance running mirrors it even more clearly. Here are some reasons why. You can’t do it alone. There is just no way I could finish my weekly long run without support. Friends and family who leave and bring water, friends who advise... Continue Reading →
I am running so super slowly all over town, and even though it’s mortifying, it’s by design. All of the best advice I’ve heard about increasing mileage is to extend your longest run of the week by time, not distance, and to run it as slowly as you can bear it. As I meander through... Continue Reading →