How She Made Running Part of Her Spiritual Life

Hi Guideposts. I’m Jocelyn Wofford, and I started running in January of 2017. And I did it because my mom had had a stroke two months prior and she was going through some real intense physical therapy. And I thought, well, I’ll figure out something to do that I hate that’s hard. Maybe misery loves company. The thought of running even for five minutes, before I started, was very daunting. In the end, really, the person who it helped most was me. So like a lot of people, I’m sure, I like to be in control of my life. And I think starting running helped me, because when I started, there’s no way I could finish the trail. And I knew I had to turn it over to God and that I would actually pray with every step, “It’s yours, God. It’s yours, God. It’s yours, God.” And of course He got me through. He got me to the end. And it helped me realize that, when I surrender, that He helps me through all of those hard runs. So there’s a verse in the Bible where Elijah hears from God in a whisper. And I think sometimes my daily life is kind of a thunderstorm preventing me from hearing God. So when I go for a run, it helps me spiritually to clear my head and to be able to hear God. And so now, going forward, I try to use that time in prayer, even if it’s just something really simple. I try to say, “Today, during this run, I’m setting aside this time in prayer.”