Time is spelled L-O-V-E

Photo credit: www.swiss-miss.com

Runners come in many shapes and sizes but the single best way to measure a runner is in the unit of time. Ask any runner and they will tell you what their personal best time is at a certain race distance.  In a gathering of runners, your time is expectedly going to be part of the conversation.  Recently though, I changed how I would talk about time. In the shuttle bus that takes runners to the starting line I was asked by a fellow runner what my time goal was for the marathon, I answered, “My goal? My goal in this run is to have the most fun!”

While the amount of time is important, what we do with it is what matters most.

Recently I was devastated by the news of the passing of my friend’s wife from breast cancer.  When his wife was still on treatments, I called my friend and promised to pay them a visit. I had the time but I was never able to make that visit. I felt distraught and asked myself why did I just not do it when I had the time.

In the last 2 months, I attended 3 memorials for people I know.  All of them reminded me about a very basic lesson in time. Time is spelled as L-O-V-E.  Take the time to visit a friend in need.  Smile at a stranger.  Give someone a nice compliment.  Hug your kids or your spouse if you haven’t hugged them in a while. Say I love you to your significant other and explicitly say how much you mean to them.  And many other ways – big or small – to use the time you have to love.

If we were all runners in this race called life, standing at the finish line, God will not ask us – what was your time? Instead God will ask – how much did you love?

How can I pray for you today? For a loved one who is sick? A friend or family member who just passed away? Traveling? Send me a message. Post it here or post on my Facebook Page http://www.prayingrunner.com/. You can email me too at prayingrunner@gmail.com. 

***Here's praying in a special way for victims of the mass shooting at Orlando, FL.***

Also please follow me on my "Road to 50" - My goal of running 50 marathons by age 50 years old. I'm on Marathon #42 and will be running #43 in the San Francisco Marathon on July 31st 2016. I expect to run #50 in 2018 at the Napa Valley Marathon. I'm looking for 50 runners who want to join me and celebrate my 50th.