Sometimes you run, sometimes you walk and sometimes you have to be carried- be it spiritually or physically.  My little dog Dooley has been reminding me of that lately.  I have a 3 mile stretch that I like to run regularly.  I will often take him with me, since he loves to go.  But he is getting older, (as is his owner!)  Lately, it seems more often that not, we run a mile, walk a mile and then I carry him the last mile.   I suppose I should just leave him at home, but he just gets so excited when he sees me put on my running gear.  I don't have the heart to leave him, and so I take him, knowing that my upper body will also get a workout during that last mile as I have to carry him.  


It's funny when he gives out, he just stops and hunkers down in the road.  It's not that he slows down to a very slow walk and then stops.   No,  he goes from a little wiener dog run with little legs just a moving to a dead stop in an instant.  It is as if his weight doubles or triples when he hunkers down. He actually feels heavier as I try to coax him to go just a bit further. There is no coaxing him to move another muscle, even that tail that wags so freely, ceases its constant motion.  And so, I pick him up, and carry him the last mile.   Not long after I have picked him up, that tail starts to wagging again, and he usually looks up at me to try to give me a "thank you" lick.

My running is for no other reason that to clear my head and pray.  Oh, yes, the exercise is an added benefit, but really it is the clarity of mind I get when I run, that I have come to love.  I have a mind that gets distracted easily.  I used to journal my prayers, then in my early 40's I discovered running, and how easy it was to concentrate mentally, since when I run,  pretty much the only thing in my mind is drawing that next breath.   So running -short distances-became something I look forward to.  If I am training for a race, like Ragnar- (yay Ragnar!),  I don't take my little dog, although, (and you many laugh), he starts out running at a really really fast pace.  Seriously, faster than mine, which isn't saying much since I am a pretty slow runner!   But he is quite fast; those little dogs were born to hunt and chase, so he starts out really fast, then slows down to a 'jog', and then just stops and needs to be carried.  

Which is kind of like us, isn't it?   We start strong, slow down a bit, and then hit a brick wall.  We all need to be carried occasionally.  Whether it be devastating illness, emotional trauma, or whatever minefield we happen to have found ourselves in, we all need to be carried from time to time.  And while  the wonderful poem, "Footprints in the Sand",  reminds us that ultimately it is  Jesus carrying us,  I am thinking about the people God has placed in our lives, those who love us enough to bear our burdens when we are weary and carry us occasionally.   During a particularly trying time when my terminally ill mother was living with us,  I was growing very weary, feeling beat up physically, emotionally and spiritually.  A very dear friend reminded me of this story about Moses in which he and the Israelites were battling a foreign nation.

"So it came about, that when Moses held his hand up, Israel prevailed, and when he let his hand down, Amelek prevailed.  But Moses' hands were heavy.  Then they took a stone and put it under him, and he sat on it; and Aaron and Hur supported his hands, one on one side, and one on the other.  Thus his hands were steady until the sun set.  So they overwhelmed Amalek and his people."  Exodus 17" 11-13

This dear life long friend of mine said she would hold my hand up.  She said she would cover me  in prayer and support.  She and other good friends certainly carried me for a while.  It was what I needed.  It carried me through, until my spirit was revived -my tail could wag again-,  and I could again run or walk.   

We need each other.  We are meant to bear one another's burdens.    Sometimes you are the one carrying, and sometimes you are the one being carried.    If you are well enough to run - spiritually speaking-,  look for someone who needs a little help- someone who could use their 'hand being held up'.  Be someone's Aaron or Hur and do a little carrying.  After all, you never know when you will be the one needing a little carrying because sometimes you run, sometimes you walk, and sometimes you need to be carried.  


Authors note:
A shout out of thanks to Ann, Brenda, Dana, Judy, Karen, Keena, and my amazing husband, children and children in law.  You would make great pack mules...you carried me safely through those mountains of mine.  I'd carry you gladly anyday, anywhere.  Love you so!   Oh and you too Dooley!  Thanks for the lesson. :)

We need each other.  We need  faithful friends. Friends who will be with us through thick and thin.  One who is willing to challenge us, to point out a different perspective, not just agree with us all the time.  A friend who is able to sift out the chaff from the wheat in our words.  A friend who forgives.  A friend who loves us enough to 'get in our face' when we need it.  A friend who is willing to say the hard things we might not want to hear but need to hear.  A friend who will cry with us, laugh with us, rejoice with us.  A friend who sharpens us in the truth.  

God created us to be in fellowship with each other.  He did not create us to be islands. We are meant to sharpen each other,  to edify each other, to spur each other on to a deeper faith. 

Do you have someone who sharpens you?  Are you in a relationship in which you sharpen another?  If not,  ask God to direct you to that type of friendship.  You will benefit from an iron sharpening type of friendship, and in turn someone will get great benefit from the edification that you can give.  If you do have a iron sharpens iron relationship, don't take it for granted, work to nurture it.

It is a true saying,  some friends are for a reason, some for a season, and some for a lifetime.   But the ultimate purpose for our Christian friendships-no matter the length of time- is to help each other grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord.

There is one friend, one lifetime friend, no, one eternal friend, John 15: 12-17, who is always there, always wanting to sharpen you, to spur you on to a deeper faith, and that is our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  Aren't we so blessed?  What a friend we have in Jesus!  And all He asks of us in return is that we do what he commands us and that we love one another.


So in your friendships, sharpen, challenge, edify, enjoy,  but above all , just love each other.  It's what we all need more of.





Author's note:
Thank you to those who have had a hand in sharpening me!  I treasure you.