When the dark is darkest ...

... the light shines brightest. This was certainly the case about 5 this morning. The moon was nearly full and the sky was crystal clear. (Which made for temps slightly below zero, but that's why I love running outdoors in Minnesota in the winter.) On the parts of the run where there were street lights, the moon did not seem so magnificent, but along the paths that are usually dark this time of year, I even saw my shadow this morning. It felt almost unreal. As much as it was breathtaking to have the moon be so bright, it did not cause the daytime to come any sooner.

How often is that the case with life. When things appear to be their darkest and most challenging, those points of light stand out more clearly. Those points of light--be they friends, comforting words, familiar places, or passages of Scripture--tend to stand out in stark contrast to what seems like the darkness of a difficult time of life. Yet, none of us is the first one to walk through the dark times, uplifted by points of light.

The Psalmist said, "Even though I walk through the valley of death, God's strength and presence are a comfort." I notice that the Psalmist did not say that he was mystically transported out of the valley of the shadow of death (a dark place indeed), but that God was present in the darkness and gave the encouragement necessary to emerge from that dark valley. God's promise is not to remove us from the dark places of life, but that He will not leave us alone in those dark places.

On my backpacking trips the darkest, coldest part of the night is right before daybreak. On long runs the hardest, loneliest part of the run is that section just before turning around to head back to the start--to the familiar. Once morning breaks, or the run is completed, those dark, cold, lonely places seem much less daunting than they did in the midst. The key is to persevere until "morning."

Today, may the points of light in the darkness remind you to persevere--morning is coming when the darkness will fade and the light will reign.

Press On!
-Ken

Slow and Steady

Running outside during our Minnesota winter requires a tortoise-like approach. To run quickly is to invite disaster--or at least falling. It has snowed for 31 out of the last 41 days here, so there is plenty of the white stuff. Nevertheless, my town does a fantastic job of trying to keep enough of our paved paths cleared to give runners safe places to run. Despite the best efforts of the city crews, the past couple of days of light snow left a thin, uncleared layer on this morning's route.

Now I would guess that you are thinking that this will be a tale of slipping and falling, but no. It is a reminder of the small joys of squeaky snow and that sometimes taking your time is a good idea.

At a certain temperature, the snow squeaks underfoot. For some reason that is a comforting sound to me. Almost as enjoyable as the sound of being out in a heavy snowfall with nothing else around. I can actually hear the snow falling and I love the sound! Sure, it was 12 degrees out and I was starting to lose sensation in my cheeks and I could feel the icicles starting to form on my eye lashes, but the snow was squeaking. O, for the simple joys of winter.

Conditions like this morning also call for a pace reduction. It is simply reckless to try to keep a fast pace on snow-covered paths. Especially when you don't know what is underneath. Bottom line, this is not a season for PRs and for tempo runs. It is a season for logging enough miles to be able to stay reasonably fit for when the snow melts and it is not dark in the mornings. And it is OK for this season to be like that.

For more than 20 years my life has been governed by the seasons of my kids' school year. But now that season is passing and the seasons will be governed by something else. It is not bad, just different. I suppose that I could try to force keeping with the school year schedule for life, but why? Why not embrace something new and different? My time off no longer needs to fall in certain windows. A trip to here or there doesn't need to account for homework or school sports schedules. It means finding a new routine, but I am looking forward to embracing that.

One part of this year's new adventure is to engage in "The Radical Experiment". David Platt wrote Radical, a book that is upsetting my apple cart. Part of the Radical Experiment is to read through the entire Bible in a year and to pray around the entire world in a year. So far, so good (today is the Czech Republic). Tackling a project like this that spans the entire year cannot be a sprint. It must be like a winter run--slow and steady. But so very worth the effort!

Pressing On!
-Ken

Skywarden at the Fine Line

Last night I went to see Paul's (son-in-law) band play at the Fine Line in Minneapolis. (A sample clip is at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WXpbdu0L3Sk). They were the second band of four for the evening and it was quite the experience. At 50, it was the first time that I have ever been to a club to hear a band. In addition to Skywarden being musically tight and lyrically vibrant, they looked like they were having great fun doing their thing.

The band before them was made up of three guys from Duluth and they sure had lots of energy. The lead guitarist looked like the bobblehead dog from the back window of your Grandpa's car and the bassist reminded me of Jar Jar Binks. But they too were loving being on stage.

When I first heard about the event, I wanted to go to support Paul and the band, but I had never been to that kind of gig before. I wasn't sure what to expect or who else might be there. It sounded foreign to me. Then Hannah and Kelsey told me that they would be there, so I felt like someone could give me some guidance. I am sure that the venue and the event was old hat to Blue River Band and Skywarden, but it felt new and unsettling to me.

On the drive home it occurred to me that going on that first run or going to a new church (or church at all) might feel the same to someone else. Running feels like second nature to me now. I know what to expect from running outside or indoors. I know what to wear and how to breathe. I know what to expect that I will feel like and I am pretty confident that I have my running etiquette down pat. (For example, spit away from your running buddies--and not into the wind). I also know what to expect from church. How to dress. What will happen. The singing and the praying do not freak me out and I know my way around the Bible.

Yet, I fear that I often mistakenly assume that just because I am familiar with running and church-going, that everyone else must be as well. Even if it is a short, no-sweat run, to someone who is new, it may be a daunting challenge. To a person who hasn't darkened the door of a church in years, or decades, going back--even to the friendliest of places--may be an insurmountable hurdle.

But I want people I know and care about to experience the joy and fulfillment that come from faith (first and foremost) and running. I cannot just tell myself that they might be uncomfortable, so don't even invite. But I can do what Hannah and Kelsey did for me. I can say, "Let's go together." Or "I'll be there too." Not needing to go alone may make all of the difference in the world.

The other thing that I realized was that he bands at the Fine Line last night were primarily there because they love their music, not because of the big crowds. Now there were plenty of people there for a Tuesday night, but it was Tuesday night. Blue River Band and Skywarden sounded very different, but they each appeared to be finding great joy in simply being able to play.

Same can be true for running and faith. I am a solitary runner. 95% of the time I run by myself. And when I run with a buddy or in a race, I really don't need to impress anyone but me. My faith journey is much the same. It is not about what someone else thinks about how I sing or pray or what I know about the Bible. It is about my connection with God and His call for me to take the gospel to the whole world. And if I am the only one, then so be it.

So keep at it Skywarden--you guys rock!

Pressing On,
-Ken

Hardest Things First

Someone once said that if you look at your day and do the hardest things first, then the rest of the day will be a breeze. There may be something to that. After running a few miles outside in 12 degree darkness (but very clear and mostly still), nothing else that the day will bring should seem daunting in comparison. There is a sense of accomplishment that I feel from a run like this morning's that is greater than the accomplishment of simply covering the distance. I have never minded running in the cold--even extreme cold--so long as it is not slippery. The ice and I do not get along well. The paths around my town are snow covered, but not icy, and that is a joy.

Last night Abby and I were looking at pictures from the Afton Trail Run that we did together last July. It was the hardest thing that either of us had done (Yes, even harder that the Goofy Race and a Half Challenge) and it was great fun remembering the points on the race course where the pictures had been taken. From the very first hill the race was a challenge like none other, but at the end, and even last night, Abby said that it was her greatest running accomplishment so far in her life and she cannot wait to run it again this July.

This tells me something--those accomplishments that are most satisfying are not usually those that come easily or quickly. Even if achieving something is difficult, the challenge of the accomplishment seems to only enhance the satisfaction of making it to the finish. In other words, the greater the challenge, the deeper the satisfaction.

I suppose that is the place of choosing. Will I choose low-level, easily attainable goals and achieve them every time with a minimum of effort? Or will I choose daunting, seemingly impossible goals that may not be achievable even with maximum effort? That is one of the things that I love about running--I can always find the next seemingly impossible goal. My running proficiency is such that I do not need to do something like running across the United States to be seriously challenged.

Our faith journey is much the same way. I suppose that it is possible to choose a low-level path. Not much praying; just attend church when it is convenient; give from my spare change and spare time; pull out the Bible and read at Christmas and Easter. But what kind of faith journey is that? That would be like running to the end of the driveway and calling it a day. Certainly no lasting satisfaction there! And yet, if that was all I knew of running, I would not understand how enjoyable and invigorating it can be--how life-altering and deeply satisfying. I wonder if that is the same with faith?

How would my faith journey (or yours) be different if I consistently chose the uphill path that was less traveled as opposed to the downhill course that was well-trampled? What new vistas of God's power might I encounter? What satisfying challenges might I actually overcome? I have to believe that fully following God--heart, mind, soul, and strength--would be more satisfying than a spare change/spare time kind of faith. Radical, by David Platt, is a book that is challenging my approach to faith in the same way that running with Abby pushes me in my approach to running. It is worth a thoughtful reading. But only if you are prepared to have your comfortable life turned inside out.

Pressing On!
-Ken

An Open Letter

November 2, 2010

An Open Letter to the Newly-elected Congress

Dear Republicans:

Congratulations. You got most of what you wanted—numerical control of the House and substantial gains in the Senate. Savor the victory for a moment, but now comes the hard part. The American people have listened to your campaign ads and speeches for the past few months. Now we would like you to listen for a moment.

Now that you are in office, we are looking for results. Not more talk. Not excuses about an “obstructionist President” or the mess that you had handed to you. You, President Obama, and your Democratic colleagues must figure out ways to work with each other. We will have absolutely no patience if you and they merely choose to stand on opposite sides of the political aisle and shout “NO” at each other. At the very least, find some common ground that advances the good of the American people and start there. Regardless of whose party the idea came from. You must remember that the Democrats are not the enemy. And the Democrats must remember that the Republicans are not the enemy. The enemy is the circumstances and decisions—made by those from both parties—that have sapped America of our hope, civility, and economic vitality. If you and the President and the Democrats cannot find enough common ground to govern for the benefit of the American people, then maybe none of you belong in Washington.

We need you to get your work done—the work of representing the best interests of the American people. OUR interests, not your own. The position that you have been elected to (or re-elected to) is a public trust—power to be exercised for the common good. Your temporary power is not for your benefit, or to defeat the other party, but it is power that we have entrusted to you to exercise, within the constraints of the Constitution, for the highest and best good of the nation as a whole.

We all realize that we are in the midst of difficult and challenging times. Many of us have lost hope that this country will ever be great again. There is an undercurrent of feeling that yesterday’s election was nothing more than re-arranging the deck chairs on the Titanic. What do you believe? Do you believe that American greatness is not merely a vestige of history, but that such greatness can be rediscovered for my children and grandchildren?

We Americans are a resilient people. We are willing to deal with difficulty and hardship. But we need someone in Washington to tell us what is real and what we need to hear—not just what your constituents want to hear. Be honest about how bad things may be, so that we can begin to build up from the bottom. And if the best economic minds in our country say that we have not yet hit bottom, then tell us that as well. Tell us that we will need to figure out new ways to take care of each other—because the government cannot be the backstop for everything that someone may think that they need. Remind us that we Americans can do amazing things when we get beyond our own self-interest and come alongside our neighbors to share the load.

Tell us that we need to tighten our belts and make sacrifices if that is what we need to hear. But don’t you dare tell us to tighten our belts if you are not willing to do the same. If that happens, we will have no mercy for you at the next election. If our households need to cut back, so does the White House—and the Congress. If we need to make do with less, then you had better do the same. (And by the way, a smaller-than-projected increase does not count as less spending.)

A strong moral fiber to our society is critical to regaining any semblance of American greatness. When America has risen to the challenge in the past, there has been a strong moral component. One of our other strengths as a nation is our cultural and religious diversity. Yet respecting our national diversity does not mean that we must sacrifice a common sense of morals. The answer to divergent co-existence is not to shut off moral discussion and conversations about right and wrong, but instead to foster those discussions with the aim of identifying the common moral bases upon which we can build a new and hopeful future.

Bottom line, we need you to tell us what is real—even if the news is bad. And then we need you to work with each other and listen to us for ideas about how to climb back to a place of American greatness. There are just over 500 of you and nearly 300 million of the rest of us. It may be hard for you to believe, but we may have some better ideas than you do—so please ask, and listen.

Finally, for once, we need all of you to be Americans first, and Republicans or Democrats a distant second.

Best regards,
Kenneth Prine
American Citizen (and lifelong Republican)
Monticello, Minnesota

P.S. Dear Democrats: Please do not believe for a moment that yesterday’s election results are a statement of approval for the Republicans’ perceived role as just saying “No” to everything. If you take that approach, and simply work to create gridlock, that approach will not be met with electoral favor in 2012.