People Can Change

Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due, when it is in your power to act. Do not say to your neighbor, “Come back tomorrow and I’ll give it to you”—when you already have it with you.

—Proverbs 3:27–28

I have long considered that there are two kinds of people: people who can run marathons and people who can’t. And I was in the latter category. But when something makes you cry, it means something. Against my preferences, watching people cross marathon finish lines makes me cry. I finally said out loud, “Sometime I’m going to do that.” I decided that in two years, I’d be ready. Then I got an e-mail from my friend Nate. Registration for the upcoming Chicago Marathon was open, he said. Was I still up for it?

I wrote a reply: No, not this year. Next year. As soon as I wrote it, I knew that would always be my answer: next year, next year, next year. I deleted those words and began again. Yes, I replied. I’m signing up. And I did.

I tend to believe the worst about myself—I could never do that, or I’ll always be like this. But then I remember that day, that season. People can change. I can change. All it takes sometimes is paying attention to your tears, and ignoring that voice that tries to hypnotize us with, next year, next year, next year.