Forgiveness

Okay, for the last four weeks our church has been doing a church wide study called "Live Like You Were Dying." Yes it is based off the Tim McGraw song. It is only four weeks long and the topics have been 1) live like you are dying, 2) speak sweeter, 3) love deeper and tonight 4) give forgiveness.

Now we were charge to do a spiritual inventory of the broken relationships in our lives and then to call, visit or email those people and reconcile the relationship(s). I've been thinking about this and I sit here and struggle with the doing. Not with the reason why we need to but just the doing. I fully agree that Christ has forgiven me and all who have sinned and to be like Him, that I too must forgive. But the calling of someone who has hurt me and tell them I forgive them or someone whom I have hurt and ask them to forgive me????? How do I do that? How do I know they even give me a second thought much less care? What if it was something big to me but something they don't even remember? What if I did something that is eating away at someone that I don't now about and I miss communicating with them and asking their forgiveness?

What if...........

I can only repair myself, I know. It must start with me, I know. But where do I start, this I don't know. There in sits my dilemma. Who have I hurt? I have never meant to hurt anyone in my life. I can't stand to think that I have though I know I must have. After all, I'm human and it's our human nature.

If anyone out there is reading this and I have hurt you, please send me an email and let me know. It's not that whatever I did that hurt you doesn't matter to me but I just don't remember all that well anymore. Not an excuse, mind you, just a sad fact that I keep trying to avoid. I barely remember yesterday much less last week, or last month, or last year.

Forgiveness - what a complexed emotion. Can we ever really give it and let go like Christ? Can someone we tell we are sorry to, really ever trust that we really feel it in our heart and mean it? If I actually make those calls, and that person has read this, will they really believe this is something I feel (which I won't make the call if I don't feel it) and not just an assignment that I was trying to fulfill?

I don't know what I am going to do other then pray a lot. I know God has a plan, I just hope I will shut up and listen to Him.

Beautiful Day to Ride

Today was such a beautiful day and we just couldn't let this day go without riding. We added a twist though, we actually went caching too. Hadn't been caching in over a year and a half. We use to cache all the time but when we started bike, for some reason we stopped caching. I had to do some maintenance on a friends cache this week and it resparked the bug. We hunted for four but only found two. One thing I noticed though is that there aren't enough caches along the river trail. I don't want to put any more out but I might have too.

The ride was great but the wind was brutal. We parked at the submarine and headed west to the Big Dam Bridge then crossed over to the Little Rock side and headed back east to the River Market. We paused at the playground to let the girls run around. We met a nice family of 7 who inquired about riding the trail. Maybe we inspired another family to ride together. Then we headed back across the river via the new junction pedestrian bridge.

A Running Family

Last fall, when Erin went back to running club, things changed. One, instead of right after school on Tuesdays, it was moved to Sunday afternoons at 3:00 pm and it was opened to all the Cabot schools instead of just ours. Since it was Sunday now, Marty and I could actually participate with her. We didn't want to leave Emily out, so Sunday afternoons at 3 became the family run time.

Marty and I really need some physical exercise since both of our work has become office jobs. We joking said that if we continued all the way through we should do the 5K of the Little Rock Marathon since Erin would be doing her final mile at the Little Rockers Marathon then too. We were joking right? At least I was. Marty, I found, not so much.

Well, the ups and downs of Arkansas weather, we did complete the requirements for Erin and Emily to do the Little Rockers Marathon. But we also got the bright idea of the whole family doing the 5K together. Emily was the keenest on this but she agreed, since her friend Kristen was going to do the 5K, and I signed everyone up.

Well Saturday the 6th of March was "THE" day. So, Marty and me and Erin get up and we meet Emily and Kristen down there (Emily spent the evening with Kristen - hope they got sleep). We were blessed with a cool but not cold morning with a beautiful sunrise. We were there earlier then needed but that's ok. We're newbies. The starting line was on President Clinton Boulevard (or Markham street if you lived here prior to Clinton being president) and headed east to the Clinton Library before turning South for a block and then back West. We started farther back in the pack so the seasoned runners could take off on their way. Emily and Kristen were a head of us and Marty, Erin and I would We headed west from the library up 3rd Street to Broadway. Then it was North on Broadway one block to 2nd Street. Then East for 4 block to Izard. 4 more blocks south to 6th street. 1 block west again to Chester. Pass the first water station and mile 2 as we head North to LaHarpe. We turned East on LaHarpe and headed to the finish line back at the River Market.

This was so much fun. We ran the whole thing almost completely together. Erin finished first (she beat her dad only by crossing first). Then Marty. I was 4 minutes behind them and then Emily and Kristen crossed about 4 minutes behind me. It felt so good. Did I really say that? We are already talking about doing another 5K in May.