Runners and Wheat

A couple of years ago a patient’s husband asked me if I was a runner. As I was at work, wearing a uniform, he had nothing to go on other than that he thought I looked like a runner. I hedged my answer – at the time I ran to be in shape for soccer and it is supposed to be good for me. As I train for a marathon, I think that I am coming closer to being able to answer that “yes” I am a runner as I “get” more of these statements than I did a few months ago.
You know you're a runner when...

• You can say "Fartlek" without laughing.
• You pass someone running in the rain and smile rather than shoot them the evil look you would have a few weeks/months earlier.
• You know what TM, OHR, and C25K means. (I had to look all of these up as I never was a couch potato)
• You look forward to sweating when most are either watching TV or asleep.
• You start measuring distances in the car and think, "I could run that." (Home to Rachel’s volleyball game at Fraser Heights School, Surrey)
• "The weather is beautiful today. The stars looked gorgeous during my run." (My former neighbour just posted ‘shooting stars’ in China on FB)
• You refuse to wear your "running shoes" unless you are actually going for a RUN.
• You know how many miles are in a 5k, 10k, HM & Marathon
• You understand the importance of wearing running-specific socks
• You start researching local 5k, 10k races in your area
• You know how fast you can run back to back miles
• You hop on the bathroom scales, think "too low", and force down 4 glasses of water
• You mistake Bodyglide for your deodorant and then spend the rest of the day wondering why your armpits aren't chafing
• You are up as early on the weekend as you are during the week
• You arrive home after going long. There's a house full of guests. You excuse yourself, announcing that you just done your weekly LSD and feel a bit woozy.
• Your family has stopped asking you about your running for fear of your long, detailed answer
• On a road trip, you look out the windows, thinking "now that would be a good running course”

This morning I read the parable of the Wheat and Weeds (Matthew 13). The Son of Man sows good seed, only to be followed by the devil sowing weeds in the same field. The weeds are left to grow with the wheat until harvest time. This got me to wondering, since even us non-farmers can tell the difference between wheat and weeds, can people I meet tell that I am “wheat”, that I am righteous and not a weed, doing evil. In the same way as this person thought that I must be a runner, can people observe me for a while tell that I am a follower of Jesus.