Center

Over Christmas break, we drove over 3,000 miles to meet my wife's brothers and sisters and to celebrate Christmas. As we were driving through the town of one of her brothers, we were amazed at the Christmas lights at the center of town.  The lights covered the whole town square, neighboring streets, and courthouse/town hall at the center of the square.  It was so beautiful and something we rarely see anymore.  It wasn't a bunch of fast food restaurants and fashionable stores.  It was the courthouse and townhall with an outdoor ampitheater, a war memorial for valiant veterans, benches under shade trees, grass to picnic and play on, and the Ten Commandments on display.

The next day, I ran from our little motel to the center of town and was pondering the lights from the previous night and celebrations of the Christmas season. As I neared the town center, I remembered a lesson from sixth grade. Throughout history towns and villages were built so that the temple or other place of worship is at the center. The teacher asked us why we thought they did that. Why wasn't the market at the center, or the financial institution, or some other business or group of businesses, or a bunch of densely-packed residences? Most of the class answered that it was like a metaphorical focus or center to their lives. I came up with a unique answer, that if the city or fortress were attacked, then the temple would be the last building to get destroyed.  And if by some miracle a resurgence occurred, they could save the temple before the enemy pillaged or tore it down too.

So all of this was going through my mind as I ran down center street USA.  And I wondered a couple things: what happened to the classic setup of a town, why our town centers became shopping malls, and secondly, where was my own, inner center?  What is the focus of my life?

Running does that to me, it gets me to reflect on my own life.  I reflect on how things are going.  Things that need changing.  Things that need adjusting.  Things that are just right. I feel gratitude as I leap over downed trees or across streams.  I feel love for my family, both my running family and my actual family.  As I run through the forest, across the field, or along the river, I feel my heart burst with gratitude for nature and all of Creation.  That is my center: running, God, and family.

So the next question: is my life in alignment with my center?  Another question for another day.