This Little Light of Mine

by Larry VanHoose

I tell people I am a recovering run-aholic. My wife could explain what that means. Long before I met her and well into our marriage, I typically ran five, six, even seven days a week. When people asked me why I ran so often, I had what I thought was a cute little aphorism I’d give in response. “There’s an old, fat guy chasing me and I’m trying to keep him from catching up.” I was talking about myself of course, the old, obese guy I was sure I’d become if I gave in to the temptation to cut back, take it just a little bit easier, skip a workout or two. But I resisted the temptation and kept going and going and going, sort of like the rabbit with big ears beating on a drum. Innocently enough, my aging body eventually gave out. First, I sprained my right knee while moving a fridge into our new house on a steep hillside. Then while I waited impatiently for it to heal so I could start training again, I sprained my left knee carrying a heavy box on my office stairway while still favoring my right. Full system shutdown! Six weeks went by, then twelve, six months, and then a year came and went. You see, I kept re-injuring my knees trying to rush my recovery and the recovery period just got longer and longer. I still went to the gym several times a week, but I was never a huge fan of stationary bikes, weightlifting, or swimming. I missed running – the competitions, the camaraderie, the endorphins, I missed it all. And to make matters worse, the old fat guy was gaining on me by leaps and bounds. I was feeling and looking my age. After a couple years of no significant progress in my recovery, I made the decision to just stop. Give my knees and the rest of my aging body a chance to heal – it was the only thing I hadn’t tried. Restlessness set in though, and I eventually took to long walks with my dogs, learning to enjoy the slower pace and the beauty around me as we (slowly and carefully) traversed the forest, hills, and meadows of our small family farm. These last couple of years I have learned a lot about myself, my dogs, my farm, and even about God. I hadn’t realized that through the years I was in such a hurry to get from one place to the next that I was missing the benefits and rewards of the journey itself. I had lost myself, and my peace, in the running to and fro. Enter 2023. The new year and the hope it holds out to us all is like a carrot on a stick, waiting for us to begin the chase. Certainly, we think it couldn’t get much worse than the last few years. With a global pandemic, wars, the threat of world war, untold thousands of racial, social, and religious injustices, murders, lawlessness, terrorism, and more behind us, things can only get better, right? Maybe yes, maybe no, but let me tell you something from deep, painful experience, we seldom get better doing the same things that got us where we are. At some point we all have to slow down and allow ourselves a chance to heal, a chance to accept or at least evaluate our current condition, a chance to figure out how to move forward again albeit slowly, and we may just need to give ourselves a chance to breathe. Slow, deep, healing breaths. I am (finally!) running again, but it’s different this time. I am different this time. I’m no longer running away from something, but I am learning to run in the moment - in this moment – to enjoy it, and to see what I’ve been missing. Who knows, maybe keeping my eyes wide open will keep me from getting injured again? But if not, at least I know now that the road to recovery starts with time, healing, and a long, slow, deep, lung-filling breath of God’s peace. And then another. “… and let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith” (Hebrews 12:1-2 NLT).

Have you heard? Surry Living Magazine is for sale!

It's true — Surry Living magazine is for sale! After five plus years of pouring their hearts into this fun and rewarding adventure, several significant changes have occurred in the current owner's other professional endeavors. Because of these new demands on that ever-so-limited supply called time, the owners of SLM have had to make the difficult, even heartbreaking decision to put their "labor of love" on the market. If you have interest in magazine publishing or maybe just thought of having an outlet for your own creative juices, this might be just the opportunity you have been dreaming about! For more information, contact co-owner Larry VanHoose at larry@surryliving.com or message him on Facebook at www.facebook.com/SurryLiving. At SLM, we look forward to helping the new owners to grow and flourish while hopefully continuing to bring this fun and inspiring regional lifestyle publication to the Surry County area for year's to come!