FAST FORWARD

I am convinced today that there is no such thing as fast or slow; there is only now.  I'm pretty sure lots of people would disagree with me and most of them are familiar with my story in meeting my husband, our decision to marry after such a short time period, and the life we have now that appears to be ever moving forward in momentum.  The only thing I can say is that moving fast, like in a speeding car or when an airplane takes off a tarmac, can be dangerous.  There are plenty of times that has proven to be true.  We all know this.  This fact has contributed to many phobias.

Including mine up until a few years ago when I sat next to my mom on an airplane bound for L.A.

But I was thinking, when considering the people I love and the ways that they entered my world and what we did after that entrance, some things appear to move fast but the truth is they move as they are designed to.  Relationships move at the pace they were designed to.  There is no measurement tool for love. Sometimes you just know that you're supposed to run with someone - run somewhere fast in order to catch up with an intended destiny.  Sometimes you are supposed to move forward with someone and in that moving forward, the speed really doesn't matter.  The only important is that you are making life happen in momentum.

We say the pace does matter, but the truth of love, is not something that can be measured in human standards since it did not originate with humans in the first place.  We wouldn't know a thing about loving anyone or anything if it wasn't for the God that made us.  He loved us before we ever became, before being a living being on this earth was ever an option, before time ever was.  So now that we are here, the only thing that even matters is how we express the emotions and the truth and the commitment that having real love takes.

So, no...there is no fast or slow.  There is the response we give when there is no denying that moving forward with that person holds the key to a God-graced future that is unquestionably undeniable.

My hubby and I wore Chuck Taylor's (Converse All-Stars) on our wedding day in December 22, 2012.  We laced up out running shoes and headed straight for the altar.  We decided that tight dress shoes for him and impossibly high heels for me was unthinkable and ridiculous.  We had somewhere to get to.  That day.  At that moment.  For now.  For today.  For life.

Is anyone else supposed to keep up with us (hence, some of the opinions regarding the speed at which we were moving after initially meeting)?  No.  Is anyone else supposed to understand the purpose of the momentum?  No.  Can anyone on this earth replicate what we have, as a couple?  No.

Why?  Because this is us.  This is our moment.  This is our "happily ever after."

There is no fast or slow...there IS only now.  If tomorrow isn't promised then why aren't we tying up tennis shoes and quickening the pace to purposefully appreciate each passing second?

I am not a "runner" (or a "jogger" like my cousin Tiesha), though I wish I was.  I wish I had the joints to take the constant concrete pounding everyday because to me this is the best form of exercise - building your body up to run a race.  When I was a little girl, I used to run and was pretty good at it.  But today, I consider what she does, what all runners do, to be a great analogy relating to life, though I cannot physically do it right now.  I am hoping one day I can.

When you are a person that runs, specifically outdoors, I would think that while you are concentrating on proper breathing, appropriate shoes to absorb shock, and avoiding Charley Horses and cramps, you are paying attention to your surroundings.  You see things from a different vantage point.  You are moving as fast as humanly and physically possible with no artificial means to expedite your mission (riding in a car, riding a bike, or riding on an animal equipped to move faster than your little legs can carry you); yet, you are not moving as fast as someone being helped along with those things.  So you can see the world around you.  You can see the trees, the sky, the life passing on either side of you.  You can really identify the beauty that is only fleeting when you are in a car or on a horse or on a bike.

You may be moving forward faster, but you are not moving forward blindly.

That's what my husband and I are doing - keeping pace with each other, arms pumping at our sides, legs moving us from yesterday to tomorrow.  We are moving faster than most, but still have the ability to enjoy the sunshine.