Chariots of Fire

*Credit to my personal photographer, Maggie, for this photo :)

This last week I started running on the beach at sunset, and while my feet played tag with the incoming waves the opening scene for the movie Chariots of Fire came into my head - a group of British athletes are training for the Olympics by running through shallow ocean water to the melody of the well-known soundtrack. The main character, Eric Liddell, says at one point in the movie that when he runs he can "feel God's pleasure." I tried to picture myself in a similar movie scene and it just made me laugh...I'm not a very graceful runner, and I think that most of the time I probably have a pained expression on my face that says something along the lines of, "Am I done yet?" (one of the main things that keeps me moving up a long hill or through deep sand is a conversation in my head about how I will reward myself when I finish five miles, "Chocolate croissant? Or white chocolate brownie? Probably a cappuccino, and actually the croissants are small. Perhaps I should just have both.")

Although I will probably never relate to a deep love for running, when I stretch myself into yoga poses I feel grounded, graceful, and grateful for the strength that I have been given...and I feel His pleasure.