Running Partners

By Jill in Spain -

Silvia is a champion-level runner. She has been running since high school. In the entrance to her home, there is a display case filled with trophies and medals from past races that she has won over the years. If I had known this, I probably would never have agreed to meet with her. 

She is now a mom of a 2-year-old and a part-time English teacher in our village. I met her through another acquaintance in town. I needed to get back into shape after several years of absence from a regular running routine. She wanted to improve her English. So, a plan was born to meet and help one another mutually. 

So, we meet on Wednesday mornings to run for an hour and speak in English. Since I am huffing and puffing, I let Silvia do most of the talking. During our times together, I have discovered that Silvia and I are similar in several ways: we both have strong personalities, we both prefer honest, direct communication, we are both visionaries and prefer to see the big picture in most things.

This week, I told her about my house guest and that I know her from work. Although I have mentioned several times that I work for a Christian organizations, it was at this point, the Silvia finally asked me about what I do.

"We challenge people to think about spiritual topics, to consider who Jesus is and help people live out their faith on a daily basis," I explained to her.

"Whoah! But your work is very difficult!" she exclaimed numerous times during our run.

Silvia shared that she grew up going to religious school, participated in catechism and first communion, but as an adult, she has found that the "basics" that she received from the church did not work for her. "That world seems useless, sometimes hypocritical," she confessed.

I totally agreed with her and shared a secret that made all the difference for me. "One important factor that helped me learn and grow was having someone who came alongside of me to teach me how to LIVE the Christian life and make it real and practical in my life. This is called discipleship."

"Oh! I needed to have someone like you in my life back then!" Silvia declared.

"Oh...well, if you are interested, we can meet another time to talk more about these things," I assured her. 

I left it there. I did not want to overwhelm her....but oh, how I long to talk more with Silvia about spiritual things.

Please pray for Silvia...
Pray that she would have additional questions and that she would express a desire to learn more about Jesus.
Please pray that God would open up a door for more spiritual conversations with her.
Please pray that God would give me wisdom to know where to start with her.
Please pray that I could be a spiritual "running" partner with her as she reconsiders her faith in Jesus.

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