For this one hour, I leave behind my daily tasks and break away for a lunchtime run. For one precious hour, I forget about the morning rush and all the undone work I’ve left back at my desk. I don’t think about the afternoon’s conference calls and meetings, or even the things I have to do this weekend. Almost instinctively, I select Bruce Springsteen’s The Rising (2002) for my run today. He created this album right after 9/11. I leave the tightly secured boundary of my headquarters building (a change resulting from 9/11) and go for a run in the streets below.
For this moment in time, this one precious moment, I soak in the warm sunshine and zigzag my way through the busy city streets. I notice there are less car horns honking today, and a few more waves and smiles from strangers and friends. Today, we are all on the same side. We all want good over evil.
I’m reminded of a story I recently heard from a conversation with a famous journalist of the “greatest generation”. He tells about a certain time in 1966. A popular magazine produced a cover that simply stated “Is God Dead?”. In the unrest of the 1960’s, not unlike today, it sometimes seemed so. The title caused much uproar, and the author of the article got a chance to interview the Reverend Billy Graham shortly afterwards and asked him the famous question.
“Mr. Graham, Is God dead?”
In a quiet, calm voice, Billy Graham responded, “Oh no, he’s not dead.”
The author pushed a little further, “How do you know that sir?”
“Because I talked to Him this morning,” Mr. Graham responded.
So as I finish my run, I am thankful that I have this one precious moment in time. I have my health, my family is well, and my soul is settled. I was able to put on my running shoes one more time this morning and run, something that has sustained me for much of my life. And someday, in Heaven, I’m certain there will be a huge musical jam session! I can’t wait to see who is there. Maybe God will even let me sing, just once.
…in remembrance of Sandy Hook, Boston, and West, Texas
