Slow and Steady . . .

I know rabbits aren't exactly known for their patience and long-suffering, but this is one (white) rabbit who's in it for the long haul.

You see, I've gotten into running. Now I use the term running very loosely here. I've never been a runner. Oh, I've been known to ring a door-bell and scram, but that would be about it. Oh, and maybe I wheezed around the parking lot with my cub scouts a few years ago, but nothing more!

It all started in March 2005 when I reached the highest weight I've ever been. No specifics, but it was in the multiple digits. I decided I needed to do something, so off I went on some walks. I started with about a half-hour, building up to about an hour. Now, being the type to get bored easily, I felt that the scenery was not going by nearly quickly enough. (This is why I used to bike, not walk.) So I started to jog a little. Not much, mind you -- a minute here, a few minutes there. Eventually, I got to the point where I was jogging for 10 minutes at a time! Woot! Fast forward a few more months and by the fall I was doing 6 miles in a little under an hour (just under 10 minute miles).

I did pretty well through the winter despite the weather, and I thought I was even doing okay through the spring. And then came . . . school! I decided I needed to take two classes for spring term. That meant 5 hours every Tuesday and Thursday. Studying in between. Work in between that. And a new position at that! Well, something had to give, and it was my grades sleep my running. I basically ran about once a week for those eight weeks of school. Even less during the last few weeks.

Well, I finally finished school near the end of June. Free at last! Free to do what I want! Free to run again! So, off I went! And off I stopped. Wow. I don't remember running being so hard! I would start off fast and just about collapse! I would have to stop. It was hot, and I just wanted to quit. My legs wouldn't move, I couldn't breathe, maybe you know the feeling. But you know what? I didn't quit. I just kept going -- slowly. At first I ran 10 minutes, walked 5. Then it was 15 and 5, then 20 and 5. Today? I ran all five miles -- no walking, no stopping. Okay, so it took 56 minutes (about 11 minutes/mile). I'm not back in the shape I was last fall and winter, but I'm getting back to it.

So pretty boring story about running, eh? Well, it is. Except I thought about it a little, and I realized that this is very similar to spirituality (or at least the spirituality of some of us). You start out doing great, going to church, and doing everything you're supposed to. You even make it through some difficulties, and you think to yourself that you're doing pretty well. And then . . . well, and then life happens. You get busy, you get distracted by other interests, there are more pressing items, and pretty soon spirituality just isn't in the forefront of your life like it should be. Time passes, and then you get spiritually out of shape. You don't feel the Spirit like you should. But hopefully, you realize this before it's too late, get rid of the distractions (often easier said than done), and get back on that road again (pun intended). And you start going to church. You want to sleep in, but you don't give up. You keep going to church. You start reading your scriptures again. You start praying again. Pretty soon, it's a habit. Maybe you don't feel as spiritually fit as you used to, but you know it's there. You know what it could be. But the most important thing is this: Don't give up. Endure to the end. Slow and steady really does win the race.