Adapted from the Christian Science Sentinel, May 28, 2007.
We got together to talk about athletic competition, and especially our mutual delight in middle- and long-distance running. Instead we spent most of our time talking about spiritual progress—though we agreed this was time well spent.
“This whole running experience is about becoming closer to God,” says Stephanie with undisguised enthusiasm. “And when you get closer to God, you know yourself so much better—your true self, your spiritual self.”
Stephanie grew up on the prairies of Manitoba, in Central Canada, about 30 minutes north of Winnipeg. “I loved nature and the wilderness. There was always so much space to run around in. We had trails that would go for miles. They gave me such a complete sense of joy and freedom.”
It wasn’t until Stephanie went off to high school in the United States that she began to take a serious interest in organized sports—first, basketball, field hockey, and soccer; and then, running. Later, at college, she focused more and more on running.
In the fall of her senior year, Stephanie did particularly well in cross-country, breaking course records, going to the college national championships, and becoming an all-American.
In the indoor track season, she broke college records in several events, including the 1,000, 3,000, and 5,000 meters; and during the outdoor season, she enjoyed the challenge of the 10,000. Again, she earned all-American honors.
“But looking back on those days,” says Stephanie, “I realize it wasn’t the records and honors associated with running that left the deepest impression. It was the lessons I’d learned—and I’m still learning—about spiritual growth and the source of true satisfaction.
“What you need most in running is dedication, consistency, persistence, and focus—and those came to me as I saw myself more clearly as an expression of God. Material limitations began to fall away. I realized that Mary Baker Eddy was so right when she wrote that “We are all capable of more than we do” [Science and Health, p. 89]. I often prayed about this, and saw steady improvement in my ability to reflect divine power in everything I tackled. Helpful perspective also came from one of my favorite Bible passages, ‘Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you’ [Matt. 6:33].”
Stephanie soon got into her “spiritual stride,” as she puts it—God, first; exhilarating, fair competition, second; prizes and records, third or lower on the list. Yet, it seemed there were always new challenges to meet.
For example, shortly after she had been invited to join the Canadian national running team, and was training especially hard, she began having trouble with her leg muscles. Sometimes they were so painful that she could hardly run at all.
“The physical and mental turmoil left me very unhappy and stressed,” she recalls. “But at that point another quote from Science and Health came to my rescue: ‘We have strength in proportion to our apprehension of the truth, and our strength is not lessened by giving utterance to truth’ [p. 80]. Just what I needed. I reasoned that my strength would be in proportion to my understanding of my relationship with God—definitely not in proportion to how much I trained my muscles to go faster.”
It was several months before Stephanie was up to full speed again, but she told me that the closer she got to the truth about her connection to God, her loving Father-Mother, the less discomfort she felt in those legs. It was a long, prayer-filled journey of self-discovery and persistence, but ultimately it was worth it. “My reward wasn’t just physical freedom, but spiritual freedom.”
Stephanie emphasizes how much running has taught her about endurance—how to keep going during long hours of study at college, and more recently in meeting deadlines in her work as a graphic designer. “I just have this thrilling awareness that God is with me,” she says, “and that with His help I can endure anything—and not just endure, but win. When the smoke clears, you feel so calm and peaceful.”
“Really neat,” is the way Stephanie describes how she gradually became less focused on her body—how it looked, how it felt, how it responded to every move she made. Just ten minutes before the start of one of her big cross-country events she was overcome by excruciating aches and pains. She could hardly stand, let alone run. She began to pray, and almost immediately recalled a passage from the chapter on prayer in Science and Health: “Become conscious for a single moment that Life and intelligence are purely spiritual,—neither in nor of matter,—and the body will then utter no complaints” (p. 14).
“That statement just came alive for me,” says Stephanie. “And I said quietly to myself, ‘I can be free. Completely free. Matter cannot control this situation. As a child of God, I am purely spiritual. I cannot be governed by bodily complaints of any kind.’ I was still having some pain as I went to the line, but the moment the gun went off, I felt completely free—ready to prove God’s dominion. I completed one of the fastest races I’d ever run. It was amazing!”
Since then, Stephanie has had many more opportunities in her running career to get close to God, to feel His power at work. “What’s so reassuring,” she says, “is that this power is available not just for me, but for anyone who trusts in God—and trains with Him.” |CSS
Stephanie Hood lives, works, and runs in Elsah, Illinois.