woo hoo snowy run, and a morning of turbo-charged learning

This morning I feel like jumping up and down with my fists in the air - I managed my run outside this morning!  Even with lots of snow and less-than-clear roads, even with the temperature at 17 degrees, even with the winter wind pushing me around!  I have wondered all fall what *real* winter running would be like for me.  Would I be able to manage it?  I mean, I've been collecting the right warm clothes and reading stuff from winter runners and cyclists and I really love being outside, so it seemed like it should work.  But what if I just wasn't tough enough?  I already knew that running and other general exercise done indoors is, for me, but a pale shadow of the fresh air, the openness, the trees, the breeze, the quiet, the superiority of natural light and darkness that one can drink in outside.  A friend was trying to goad me into moving indoors earlier this week and the very idea was about as appealing to me as moving to an all toast-and-water diet.  Egh. 


Getting up the giant hill just outside my door was a bit more of a challenge with all that snow - I was breathing a little harder than usual by the time I fought through the snow drifts along the ditch (trying not to be in the way of the cars that needed to make their way down that wicked, steep, slick hill in the dark of the morning) but it was manageable.  I didn't run as hard as I usually do, as the snow and ice and unevenness under my feet required rather more carefulness than generally needed.  I'm very aware that I don't want to fall, especially in any way that might hinder me running again next week.  So I took my time and didn't beat myself up for not going very fast (but never slowed to a walk).  


My brain seems to be having one of those mornings where it snaps along at a pace faster than I can follow.  The Lord is opening up a bunch of different things inside of me, each largely unrelated to the other except for the detail that it seems clear it's the Lord's doing and not just me suddenly figuring stuff out.  Among the many pieces is a bit of transferring stuff I've learned well in this year of letting Him teach me to love my body....to my financial life, of all things!  Highly unexpected to me, though I don't know WHY I didn't expect it, since I've been specifically asking Him in the last 45 days to teach me how to manage my finances in a sustainable way (this is an area that has always been a struggle for me). 


Funny, how He works.  Think I'll let Him work some more.  


Happy snowy day, all!