Peggy Roe, Member, Board of Trustees

Psalm 118:24 (NTB)
This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.

Reflection:
For more than thirty years, three friends and I met daily in the early morning hours to run three miles around the track at a nearby elementary school. Winter, summer, spring, or fall—hot weather, cold weather, or wet weather—almost nothing deterred us from making our daily run.  The four of us included two Methodist women and an Episcopalian and Catholic man. Each of us had stable, long-lasting marriages, happy, wholesome families, and robust health (including “good knees”). There was a 20-year gap between the youngest and the oldest of the group, but this fact was not a determinant in the speed we ran or the frequency with which we met. Both men were former marines, and while not athletic, the other woman and I were determined to keep up. Each and every morning when we met at the track, we greeted each other by saying, “This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.” 

Our running group called itself “Huit Feet” (“Eight Feet”); and we named the path where we ran “The Track of Life.”  As time passed, the vagaries of life began to manifest themselves through job challenges, children’s health issues, siblings’ deaths, and ultimately, the loss of one of the male runners and the spouses of the other three.  At the other end of the spectrum, we experienced the joy of productive jobs, children’s college graduations and eventual marriages, and the birth of grandchildren—and in one case, great-grandchildren!  Throughout the tenure of our lives running together on the track, there was one common thread that remained immutable:  our individual and collective faith in God and our gratitude for his son, Jesus Christ.

When these three friends and I met at the Track of Life those early mornings to bring up the sun, we were worshipping. We were not sitting in church, bowing in prayer, listening to a sermon, or receiving Holy Communion. But we were running in nature’s sanctuary, acknowledging God’s presence, sharing our stories, and affirming our faith. Those were the days that the Lord had made; and we rejoiced and were always glad in them. 

Prayer:
Dear Heavenly Father, thank you for all the ways you have inspired us to worship you—whether in the glorious, natural world you have created for us or in one of the majestic cathedrals your presence has inspired us to build. We are grateful that you find us wherever we are and open your arms to love and enfold us. In Christ’s name, we pray. Amen.