Iron Sharpens Iron

As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another. Proverbs 27:17

I have a confession. I absolutely did not want to run today. Kim and I have given up running in the mornings until the weather "doesn't suck" as I put it. When it's 12 degrees and the wind is pounding on my face, it just doesn't make for a delightful endeavor. So we've decided that afternoons would be best.

But today...I did not want to.

I sent her a text at around 3:00 pm saying, "I don't want to run. Do you?"

She said yes. And guess what. She even came up to my front door and knocked. "It's cold, but we can do this. Even if it's just one time around. Ok?"

Ugh. Ok, Kim. Just because you're such a nice girl.

So when Josh got home, I put on my it's freaking colder than Antarctica clothing and we began our regiment. She said she could only go around once because she had to go pick up her little girl from the sitter. I was glad. I didn't want to be out there anyway.

As we made our last turn, we noticed that they "neighborhood runner" (as we always call him) was coming up behind us. I was excited (I know, I'm weird). "Hey, Kim! Maybe I can jog with him! Think I could do it?"

Being the sweet girl that she is, she replied, "Yeah, I think you could!"

He got closer and starting talking about how great it was that we were out there. He is VERY passionate about fitness. He made small talk with Kim, asked her about her husband, and then we arrived to her house where she had to leave me and get in her car to pick up her cutie.

And there I was...still jogging next to the neighborhood runner. He pulled ahead of me, but I sort of used him as a pace runner. I kept my distance behind, but I did keep up with him. And I continued doing this for two times around...that's one mile. Even though I have to work up to a little over 3 miles for the 5K, we have not done this yet in our Couch to 5K training program. So I was really excited that I made it that far.

But...I could not have done it if Kim didn't make me go outside. I also do not think I could have done it if the neighborhood runner wasn't out there in front of me. I'm not sure why, but when someone else is with me...either right next to me or a few steps ahead, I just do so much better. I don't feel any pain in my legs. I don't feel winded. I have someone to keep me going. And it makes me better at what I'm doing.

In this case, it's running.

But in life there are those who sharpen me in other areas as well. And I am thankful for them.


Who sharpens you?