Confessions of an Introvert
I’m an introvert – I like spending quality time alone, all
by myself. It’s how I recharge and
refocus. So when Tabitha said she wanted
to train with me for a half marathon, I was excited for her but concerned for
me. I had never really trained with
anyone else in the past and I kind of enjoyed being alone. I really wanted to support Tabitha so I said
yes.
To give you some background: At this point, Tabitha’s and my
family have been living together for about 3 months. We knew each other to a certain degree (having
only 1350 sq ft to eat, breath and walk around in) but she was sweet to make
sure I was aware that she liked to talk while running and asked if that would
be okay. Of course it would be okay
because she is an extrovert and out of my 4 siblings and I, I am the most
introverted, so I knew what I was getting myself into.
I’m laughing at myself right now as I write this because
little did I know the things I would learn while training with Tabitha.
First of all we just talked.
Sometimes about nothing in particular, sometimes about what was
troubling us, and sometimes we would confess that we did not want to run that
day or that we didn’t think we could finish.
Second, we listened to each other. Sometimes we would only listen; sometimes offer
our experiences and advice; sometimes we would even pray about these
situations. But we would always
encourage each other about keeping our goal in sight and that we COULD finish
because the Lord is our strength!
When Tabitha and I got to the point in our running where we
needed to branch off to our specific training programs according to our
different running goal, I realized just how much those times meant to me. As an introvert I was gently reminded how
much relationships enrich our lives.
How, in the grand scheme of things we never fully do anything alone (Heb.
12:1) because we need others and their support. I’m thankful for my husband and his
encouraging words, my daughter’s smiles, and my friend’s questions on how the
training is going. I’m thankful for the
time I had with Tabitha to talk about how my breathing sounds just as heavy as
hers so therefore, she’s not as out of shape as she thinks she is; when the
right time to start potty training my little girl; and my and my husband’s
vision for our marriage.
While I am an introvert and I enjoy being alone, I wouldn't trade the
time I had running with and growing closer to my extroverted house
mate over anything.