Commitment

In all my running wisdom, with a half-marthon in November and a (first, Lord willing!) marathon in February, I've decided it was time to "up" my running routine.  So, this morning I met with a group of runners to run intervals on a local track.  Intervals are the (relatively) easy part.  The time of day?  Not so much.  What was difficult was the meeting time: 5:15 a.m. Now, 5:15 a.m. is usually closer to when I go to bed than when I wake up.  To say I'm not a morning person is an understatement.  But I did it. This morning I woke up at 4:50, picked up my neighbor at 5:05, and was huffing and puffing on the track by 5:20.  Whew, that even hurts to write. I wish there was an award for that kind of dedication. I'm all for accolades. :-)

As I was making my zombie rounds on the track this morning, I reflected on the past days' thoughts about my upcoming anniversary.  In about a week I'll be married 22 years.  More than half of my life.  (That does not hurt to write, thanks be to God.) In reflecting about my marriage, the idea that keeps coming up in my mind is:  commitment. Commitment to keep my vows.  Commitment to see it through.  Commitment to guard my heart.  Commitment to forgive.  Commitment to love.

Lest ye be decieved -- my marriage is not the stuff of Hollywood.  It's the real deal. Roses and warts. Feelings are fleeting, but commitment in marriage has produced an abiding joy that I treasure more than I could have imagined in August 1989. C.S. Lewis has a book titled Surprised by Joy.  I loved that book, and I understand that.  My life's title would be Surprised by Commitment. 

To bring it full circle (oh, how I love colons): marathons are like life.  No one bakes a cake for waking up at unholy hours to train.  And there are no laurel wreaths for years of commitment to a spouse.  My reward is to know it's right and best, and that's the best sort of peace.  I've committed and I'm going to see it through, to the best of my ability. Both marathon (short-term) and marriage (life-time).

I love you, Mr. Husband!

Don't use words too big for the subject. Don't say "infinitely" when you mean "very"; otherwise you'll have no word left when you want to talk about something really infinite. ~ C. S. Lewis