"Against the Wind..."

How many of you remember the lyrics to Bob Seger's song, "Against the Wind?" Let me help you out:

Against the wind
We were runnin against the wind
We were young and strong, we were runnin
Against the wind

Well, that was VERY familiar today. Working from home, I needed to schedule a run in the middle of the day (Baylor is playing in the NIT Championship tonight against Penn State!).

Have you stepped outside??? Holy Windbreakers, Batman! It's freakin' windy!!!

There is a great sermon that I heard one time by Billy Graham. He was talking about Faith, and how it could be compared to the wind. You see, with wind, you don't see it. You can feel it... and you can see the effects of the wind... but you definitely can't see it. Graham said that the Christian Faith is in the same manner- that one can see the effects of someone who demonstrates Faith.

Well my friends, I could definitely attest to the "effects" of the wind today! As I stepped outside, I couldn't believe how fierce it was! Trees were bent over... leaves and debris were flying by... I witnessed a small child rolling by like a Texas Tumbleweed. I knew then that this would be no ordinary run...

It's days like this that my hair, as long as it has become, flows brilliantly in long streaks behind me... unless, the wind is at my back and it's covering my face! Oh the humanity!

This wind was a beast! An evil, sinister beast I tells ya! No matter which direction I ran, it was always doing the opposite of what I expected. "Oh, I'll turn this corner and it'll be at my back." WRONG! It would get angry that I was challenging it and turn it's mighty force upon me!

How strong is the wind today? Local meteroligists have indicated it has been a constant 30-35 mph all day. That's just bad... especially when you have to do stuff outdoors!

And this wind was a spitter, too. Not of the wet kind... but of the dirty dusty debris-filled kind! I was pelted with everything imaginable. Leaves... branches... dogs... cats... you name it, it was raining down on little old me as I tried desperately to "lean into the wind."

I'd stride by a puddle and I'd see white caps. Cars were turned over on one street. I swear I was running in the movie "Twister!" Where did this come from? Was this a land-based hurricane and I just hadn't adhered to the warnings? Why did that cow just fly by???

And the more I ran, the "fro-ier" my hair got. It was big. Huge! I think it started to cover my body, too. Like I was "Teen Wolf" running down the street with his headband hidden in a mass of hair. Birds were taking shelter in it!

Well, I finished... the bad leg wasn't too sore and I did another sub 40 minute run for the 4 miles. I was glad to get out of the wind... I had been sandblasted enough!

Yes, Dr. Graham is right... one can see/feel/experience the effects of the wind. And sometimes that's just not right!!!