Running with Endurance... and running... and running...

Well, we’re two-thirds of the way to Thanksgiving. Happy Halloween, everyone! I hope you’re doing well. Today’s topic is – well – stuff. Which I will elaborate on more as I go on.

I was late to math class this morning. Only by a few minutes – I didn’t miss anything. It’s college, and it’s a fair-sized section. It actually bothered me how little anyone cared. I try very hard not to make running late a habit. Why this time? Well, I was taking a nap. At 9:00 in the morning, I was taking a nap. All us midshipmen 4/c (freshmen) here at Harvard get up at 5:00 every Monday morning, head to MIT, and work out for an hour. And then we all get back, eat breakfast, and take naps. I try to treat it like jet lag and stay awake, but this weekend was busy, so I didn’t have the extra rest stored up.

This past Saturday we had our Pass in Review for the MIT ROTC units. At first, we were just kind of annoyed at the early-morning practices. But little by little it started to seem important. Maybe it was the 13 gun salute. Or the subsequent two-star General. Or the fact that FOX news was covering the event. In any case, by the end of the night we were fairly impressed. It was a good night. We got a chance to spend some relaxed time with the upperclassmen, which we usually don’t get to do. After the ceremony the parents of one of the Harvard 4/c took a few of us out to dinner. We got to see each other while fully awake, while simultaneously spending time with some very tasty Italian food.

This week is going to be busy as well, mainly because of the a cappella concert coming up this Friday. Exciting! So that will be most of Saturday. I’m so thankful to be a part of this group – we have a lot of fun. We have yet to get through the skit for the concert without breaking down laughing. And of course, every weekend there is church. The sermons run a little longer than I’m used to, but I really enjoy going. The messages are scriptural and make you think, the music is familiar and energetic, and – perhaps best of all – there is always food.

So that’s a little of what I do on the weekends, between study time, of course. November is going to be a crazy month, which means it’s going to go by fast. And then there’s Thanksgiving break, and then there’s only a week until reading period! So much to learn and do, and so little time!

            No time is wasted here, though. Classes are buzzing along. In Modern Middle East, for example, we’ve finished covering several hundred years of history and are now zeroing in on modern issues. It’s a very interesting class, and we have some very good discussions. It tends to annoy the science majors – the professor will put up entire slides of questions, and we just discuss; we never attempt to answer them. Which means you learn a lot if you want to go in-depth, but you get out what you put in, work-wise.

            You spend a lot of energy here, working on things. Some things I do because they’re fun and useful, some because they’re just fun, and some because they’re just useful. And sometimes I wonder about that. In our culture today there’s a strong temptation to just ‘do what you want to do.’ Don’t do things for boring, practical reasons like money or a steady job. Go explore! Take risks! Live life! And to an extent, this is an okay or even a good thing – to an extent.

            In the Christian world, when someone feels down, we often ask them, “do you feel like this is moving you closer to God?” or “do you feel fulfilled doing this?” These are, of course, important questions. If something is not accomplished for Christ, it is not accomplished at all. We must never lose sight of our priorities. But there is a trap here, I think.

            The trick is in that word ‘feel.’ Because I have found that, oftentimes, the things that move me closer to God are not the things which make me feel blessed, but the things which make me feel tired and strained. God wants to stretch us, to take us out of our comfort zones. We cannot learn to run with endurance if we insist that everything be a nice, comfortable warm-up lap. It is in the gasping, the burning acetic acid and the sweat that we learn to run. And yes, it will make you question your motivation. It will make you tired. And occasionally it will make you late to math class.

I say this now, in my warm bed in comfortable clothes, with no pressing appointments. Tomorrow morning I will wake up and have to go outside and I will tell all my fine philosophy to go climb a tree. But when motivation leaks through the cracks in the window, it’s time for commitment to come in and save the day.

And speaking of commitment, this is much longer than my normal post, so thank you for your time, and I’ll leave you to go on your way. Happy holidays, everybody, and think of us if you’re lying in a warm bed awake at 5:00 on a Monday morning!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sorry about the pictures; blogger is being weird. Hopefully I can get it working again soon; until then, sorry, and suggestions are appreciated!