Wanna Run Away?

Ever feel like you just want to run away?

I used to feel that way a lot. I moved coast to coast running from things, people, places, memories. Seven years ago I quit running. I found a place, the DC area, that felt like home and I wanted to stay. But today? Today is the day I would run away. I'm not even home and I want to run away. I'm at the beach with my favorite people enjoying a work retreat doing what I love.

Walking on the sand next to the lapping waters with dogs sniffing everything and the sun finding quiet space behind some clouds at 7am today, I felt peaceful. Like nothing could go wrong.

And then the world started crumbling. The Navy Yard shooting, our newest Miss America undergoing incredible amounts of idiotic racism, and Colorado mountain flooding taking lives and causing people to be lost. Throw in the occasional client throwing a fit, threatening emails from a recent ex-roommate, and a coworker dealing with more than she can handle while the outside world just doesn't make sense and it's time to escape.

Some pour a stiff drink. 
      Others hide under the covers.
            And I just want to run away... far away.

But in reality, this is when we have to start praying our hardest. I heard Max Lucado preach at NCC last Saturday and he talked about how sometimes things are hard. I paraphrase: It's gonna suck for awhile. And it definitely won't be easy, but God will create something good out of the mess. 

What's the mess you're under?
                Would a hug help?
                              A talk-it-out session?
                                                   A prayer?

Something good will come out of this. I can say that without a doubt.

Now listen to this and realize it'll all be ok. Somehow.