Today’s run wasn’t special in any significant way. Just showing up, getting the miles done, and listening to audiobooks. In fact, circumstances are rather stacked against me, I feel. My piriformis — or the upper end of my hamstrings, I don’t know which — is painful even as I sit here and write. I have some kind of a lump developing on one of my toes, and it started bleeding during the run. My finances, relationships, and emotional health have seen better times. But I don’t want to focus on those things.

I think back to this morning’s run. I got it done. A slow, slow 25k jog. I played soccer last night, which definitely contributed to the pain and the slowness today, but also may have been the highlight of my week. The long, lonely run may show some grit, but it is so much more enjoyable to have fun and exercise in a group.

This morning, halfway through, a thick fog descended over the city. I became a bit disoriented and had to check the map on my phone to keep going in the right direction. My map in dark times is the Bible. God says that “even though I go through the valley of the shadow of death,” He is with me (Psalm 23). I am not alone. He will guide me through the fog to a safe, spacious place.

And so I am showing up for my writing as well. I feel my way forward as a thick fog of uncertainty settles over me, but I pray and believe that He, my Friend, is here, so I can find direction and guidance. At my office, I talk to Him as we wonder when the uncertainty of the AI fog we are in will lift, but we trust that He will show us the way as we show up and pray.

I see the fog lift from my finances as I practice generosity, from my relationships through humility, and from my heart through trust. The sun begins to shine through.

And I show up. Never alone, but always with a Friend.