by glumus from www.sxc.hu
Over the last several years, we have gotten into running. Amanda is a better runner than me. She has completed two half-marathons. Yet, running is something we do together, though it is rarely side-by-side. Most of the time, because of small kids, we run at separate times. Sometimes, when we are with family, we will run together, but we don’t have the same pace. Amanda runs a mile in a mid 8-minute pace; I run a mile in a high 9-minute pace and sometimes a 10-something pace! So even when we run together, we aren’t necessarily side-by-side. Sometimes she slows down and I speed up so we stay together. Then we will walk together for a portion. Sometimes if she gets too far ahead she will circle back and pick me up.
We have challenges, but we are deeply in love and have a great marriage together. I think one of the reasons is that we RUN TOGETHER! No, I don’t mean physical running, though I think that is good, but rather we try to do life together! Just like in running, we are different. We have different paces, thoughts, goals, and desires in life just like in our runs. But we make an effort to run together. Whether it is church work, parenting, hobbies, house-work, or recreation we try to run together rather than separate.
Here is the point. I think lots of couples forget that when they got married, they committed to run together. It is easy to get so involved in all of the individual activities that we run our own course. Marriage is about sharing, helping, and running together through the course of life.
Maybe you and your spouse need to consider your running and start doing it together. You may realize you can accomplish a lot more working together.
