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Corporate Cup Half Reflection

Some Pharisees and some Herodians want to trap Jesus by asking him difficult questions. They came to Jesus and asked, "Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?" (Mark 12:14) In their minds, rejecting to pay tax entails a rebellion against Caesar and willingness to pay tax suggests a compromised devotion to God. To their dismay, Jesus looked at a denarius, a Roman small silver coin, and asked, "Whose likeness and inscription is this?" They answered, "Caesar's." Then Jesus said to them, "Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's." (Mark 13:17) When Jesus looks at you, what image will he see? God's? Or Caesar's?

The Sunday Long Run Crew was well represented.
Corporate Cup half marathon happened last Saturday. I woke up at 5:30 a.m., put on my race gear, fetched everything I needed, and drove uptown to check in for the race. My mind was consumed with everything centered around the race, up till the moment when we toed the line and the announcer asked all 3000+ of us to bow our heads. All of a sudden I felt a change in my heart. All morning I was running around and had forgotten the most important thing! He thanked God for our ability to run and asked God for His protection. The prayer was simple but effective. It drew my attention from the creation (running) back to the Creator. 

I think our lives are made up of many different facets. There's not one thing and/or one role that could describe all of me. Running is one of the facets and I pray that it reflects an image of God.

I'm done! (credit: Bevin)
The half marathon turned out to be a lot of fun. I went out at a sustainable pace and kept in mind that the second half of the course was hill-heavy. Like most races, I was afraid to pick up the pace and leave nothing in the tank for the last couple miles. While most elevation gains happened between mile 10 and 13, the rolling hills and graduate climbs were evenly spaced across the course, which, in my opinion, kept the course enjoyable. I finished in 1:41:55, an unexpected PR and a great run with friends.

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