I am the jack of all trades and the master of none when it comes to working out. In 7th grade, I decided it was a good idea to join the school’s track team. My infatuation with track, or running to be precise, began when I watched the 1976 Summer Olympics.
That year, Nadia Comăneci scored a string of perfect 10s in gymnastics. I had tried gymnastics a few years earlier and knew it wasn’t the sport for me because of multiple falls from the uneven bars. My cartwheels also needed work.
What was particularly fascinating to me that year and stirred my pride in my Finnish heritage was the 5000m and 10000m gold medals won by Lasse Virén (obviously a Finn). I was sure I could become a source of national pride for my Finnish family. Even though we lived in the USA, Finland was never far from our thoughts.
I bought the shoes and gear; actually, Äiti and Isä did (mom and dad in Finnish). I joined the team and began a long uphill battle to learn to run long-distance races. This was no easy task for my 7th-grade self. In PE (physical education) at school, I never did well on the physical fitness tests.
Pull-ups? No way.
Push-ups? What are those?
Sit-ups? Let’s call it a day.
But for some reason, the belief that running was part and parcel of my Finnish DNA pushed me to run. So I started running.
And I ran very slowly. In the first few weeks, I ran a mile in 13-14 minutes, very slow compared with the other kids on the team. But gradually, I improved. My mile times dropped, and when I broke 11.5 minutes, my coach shouted for joy (even though I was still running toward the end of the pack).
I quit, but I kept running
Our team began to compete with other local schools. While my strength lay in long-distance, my coaches wanted to help me improve in other arenas. They put me in the 50m dash, long jump, shot put, and others. A few times I performed almost decently, but because I wasn’t the strongest long-distance runner on the team, I wasn’t allowed to compete.
My heart broke after that year, and I quit the team.
But I kept running.
How to run far
I never ran faster than 9.5-10 minutes per mile, but I learned how to run far. I found my pace, which averaged around 11 minutes per mile, and kept running for many years. Some years ago, I signed up for my first (and only) 5k run. I placed 11th in my age bracket, and I felt pretty good about.
Nowadays, I prefer hiking and walking to running, though I do run a little from time to time. I’m paying attention to my knees so that I can keep walking (or running) for many years to come. It’s become obvious to me (in a painful kind of way) that my knees need a bit of babying.
So, I keep walking because if I stop, all those fitness gains are in peril. I’ve mentioned this before: a quote I once read that says, “Do something, lest you do nothing.” I’ve learned that doing something, even slowly, is better than doing nothing at all.
Our walk with the Lord follows much the same principle. We have to keep moving. Some seasons change our pace, and sometimes progress feels painfully slow, but we keep walking.
At the end of last year and the beginning of this year, I invited you to go on a walk with me. I wrote that the words resonating in my heart for 2026 were get closer. I checked in on where I had been and thought about where I wanted to go in the coming year.
So consider this another check-in. I’m still walking. Are you?
Keep walking
The only times I have had to pull back from exercise were when I was postpartum and after surgery. Of all my experiences regaining my strength, the post-surgery period was the worst. It took months to regain strength and a bit longer to start progressing. But I stayed committed, and I found my mojo again.
Getting up after that difficult time made me stronger.
Sometimes in life, we feel knocked down and must gather our strength to move forward. Those times come to us all, but we can’t afford to stay still and grow stagnant. The world is moving, and life is unfolding.
Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us.
Hebrews 12:1 (NLT)
Everything that slows us down in our faith, even the good things, we need to set aside for the sake of our health and growth. This means we must keep walking or running to stay ahead of what can weigh us down.
So keep walking or running; choose your passion. I’m not a great walker or runner, but I keep going so I can stay close to Him and hear His whispers throughout the day.
If you could use a little encouragement to keep going, I’ve put together Connecting to God: 5 Days of Drawing Closer, a short devotional study with practical ways to grow in your relationship with God.
Read the Free Preview – Start with the introduction.
Continue with the Full Devotional – $4 – Walk through all five days.
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Related Reading:
I’m Here to Check-In: A Walk Without Distance
