the Millerite vow

"These are the instructions for Nazirites as they bring offerings to God in their vow of consecration, beyond their other offerings.

 They must carry out the vow they have vowed following the instructions for the Nazirite."

-Numbers 6:21 (the Message) 

This is Dan Miller. My dad. 

He doesn't look like this all the time. Just on his birthday when he goes out to a fancy steak house with my mom & their friends.  

This picture is the perfect example of three of the things I love best about my dad. 

#1. My dad has the best sense of humor. You cannot help but laugh with this guy.

#2. My dad doesn't care what other people think about him. I mean, just look at him.

#3. My dad has this incredible gift to think up super crazy awesome things & to convince others to do them with him.

It reminds me of the Millerite vow he took a few years back. The inside of the church where he is pastor, was in dire need of coat of paint. So he told his congregation that he was making a commitment, a Nazerite er... a Millerite vow, to get the painting done. He would be at the church every Friday night until it was finished. They were more than welcome to join him if they would like. Oh & until it was finished, he wouldn't be shaving either. 

I think there might have been a teensy bit of confusion about what he was actually doing. A dear elderly lady approached him at church to ask why he was taking a MillerLite vow. He quickly answered, "Oh sweetie, I'm not taking a MillerLite vow. You know I'm a Guinness man." Classic. 

On my dad's birthday this past March our family called to sing him the "ugly" birthday song--which is the traditional birthday song sung loudly & badly. After we had finished, he began to tell us about his "bucket list". That wasn't actually what he called it but he had been a compiling a list to complete before his next birthday. A milestone birthday. 

"So." he says, "I'm going to do a half triathlon. Would you find us a good one?"

My first reaction?

"That's awesome dad! Wait. Um.... who exactly is this 'us'? Is there a wocket in your pocket?"

But he was so excited & to be honest I love that guy so much, I couldn't really tell him no. Refer to #3 above. 

So I made some calls to my athletic friends & found a good one for 'us' to do in July & by good I mean the t-shirts are super cool & they give us free beer at the end. 

'Us' quickly became my dad, my mom, my husband & me. At this stage of the game the first three have been working their butts off. Two of them joined the YMCA & have been swimming, riding their bikes & running. One of them put 30 miles on the trail near our home just last week. The last one. Is a slacker. 

You guessed it. The slacker is me. 

 That brings us to today. It was 80 degrees & sunny. I began to feel a little anxious about May almost being over as obviously time is running out & to be honest, I'm just plumb out of excuses. So I laced up my running shoes & took off.  I think I ran like 7 miles... or maybe it was 2.5. I don't know for sure cause I was dying. No I AM dead. Killed. Deceased. 

But here is what I was thinking while I was dying... this whole jump start training for the tri is a lot like my faith journey. Sometimes I slack off. I get fat on the milk of the Word & I reject the meat. Sometimes I get stuck. I get comfortable. I rationalize. I over-think. Bottom line, I don't move. When I finally come to my senses I freak out, I beat myself up, I throw myself on the mercy of Jesus & finally, I pick my big fat bloated body up off the floor & get my gargantuan butt moving. Sigh.

I need to remember that just like my first day back in workout gear after a LONG Minnesota winter, my spiritual life is not a sprint. Just like I can't swim 600 meters, bike 16 miles & run a 5k my first day out, I absolutely have to make life changes & stick with them. I need to be disciplined everyday to dig deeper into the Word of God, to push myself a little further & become a little more like Jesus. 

So... tomorrow around this time, I'll be biking. A couple miles or maybe 20. Who's counting. All I know is that I've gotta keep moving so I can be a part of the "Us's" & finish strong with my dad, do the Miller shuffle with my momma, eat my husband's dust & wave to all the people along the route. & between you & me, I can't WAIT to see what kind of outfit he'll be wearing. 

“Struggling and suffering are the essence of a life worth living. If you're not pushing yourself beyond the comfort zone, if you're not demanding more from yourself - expanding and learning as you go - you're choosing a numb existence. You're denying yourself an extraordinary trip.”
-Dean Karnazes, Ultramarathon Man: Confessions of an All-Night Runner