randalevan's blog

"Trust Me" and the Pacific Grove Triathlon.

Given the fact I will enter into my fifth decade tomorrow, I decided I would get one more blog post in while I am still in my forties!

I wanted to write a quick post about an amazing experience I had two weeks ago today. As many of you know, I started doing triathlons in June, a small miracle in and of itself, given the fact I hadn't been able to run (*knee problems) for over ten years, not to mention the fact that I never swim. Anyway...

Immediately following my first "tri" in Morro Bay, I signed-up for my second in Pacific Grove...scheduled for September 10th. All my training was going as planned, and except for the occasional jitters and anxiety (*prayer works great...as does telling myself to relax!), I was good to go. Well, until early Friday morning...September the 9th.

You are my Beloved - Part II

Here's the second half of the Nouwen quote from the other day...

“I am putting this so directly and so simply because, though the experience of being the Beloved has never been completely absent from my life, I never claimed it as my core truth. I kept running around it in large or small circles, always looking for someone or something able to convince me of my Belovedness. It was as if I kept refusing to hear the voice that speaks from the very depth of my being and says: “You are my Beloved, on you my favor rests.” That voice has always been there, but it seems that I was much more eager to listen to the other, louder voices saying: “Prove that you are worth something; do something relevant, spectacular, or powerful, and then you will earn the love you so desire.” Meanwhile, the soft, gentle voice that speaks in the silence and solitude of my heart remained unheard or, at least, unconvincing."

You are my Beloved

Someone I care about very much was going through a rough time recently. Because I love them, I wanted to comfort them. As I thought about what to say, I remembered a quote from a book by Henri Nouwen, a Dutch priest and prolific author who passed away several years ago. In his book, Life of the Beloved: Spiritual Living In a Secular World, he writes:

"Ever since you asked me to write for you and your friends about the spiritual life, I have been wondering if there might be one word I would most want you to remember when you finished reading all I wish to say. Over the past year, that special word has gradually emerged from the depths of my own heart. It is the word "Beloved," and I am convinced that it has been given to me for the sake of you and your friends.

when i feel surrounded...

i have had one of the most peculiar weeks of my life. last saturday an old high school friend wrote me and told me that a good friend of his had just died of cancer. then on sunday afternoon i received an email from friends in spain informing that a mutual, dear friend had just died of cancer. then on monday i exchanged emails with another friend who is planning a 1-year memorial for his wife who died of cancer last year. then a good friend called me and told me that his skin cancer had returned...and it sounded serious. then one of the people i work with told me that an old college friend was given just a few weeks to live...they were dying of cancer. when another work associate heard of this, they told me that they had just heard that one of their old high school friends had just died of cancer over the weekend. oh, and did i mention that i was invited to a prayer meeting for a friend of several of my friends to pray for his healing...from cancer?

when this all started rolling-out, i thought, "wow, this is really breathe-taking. Lord, i need you.

i bet others go through things like this in their life, and they need you, too." so i decided to write something that i hope encourages you to find peace, hope, and comfort in Jesus.

oh, and before i go on, the last straw was a text message i received about 50 minutes ago, informing me that someone i know just had a heart attack, and had a stint put in one of their arteries.