The runners in the station all run, but only one wins the race.

If you are a true Bible expert you would have known that the title of this blog comes from the first letter to the Corinthians, at least, if you had not seen my deliberate adaptation. The original is "Thou knowest: the runners in the stadium all run, but only one wins the race. Run so that you win! (1 Cor 9:24)' But yes, I am not a runner in the stadium, but in the train station.

I had five minutes today, according to the Dutch Railways app, to transfer to the next train. This should be fine. But I saw the moment the train doors opened that I only had thirty seconds to get to the next train. I, as stubborn as I am, naturally thought, I can make it. I had already removed my earplugs and ran and ran. I think Femke Bol is nothing like it. I ran in the middle of the platform. Everyone had to get off the train because everyone had to change trains in front of them. Fortunately I had a lot of room to run. I don't know how I managed it, but I sashayed through concrete blocks that people were sitting on. A miracle there were no accidents. At the top of the stairs, I felt the G-forces on my body as I came to an abrupt stop before running down the stairs. I ran under the tracks and arrived at the track, but yes, it was already gone.

While waiting for the next train, which came only ten minutes later, I was coughing because I had literally run my lungs out. I didn't know I could run that fast. I think it's because I've been hiking with friends lately. You could call it sort of a senior citizens' club, but the camaraderie does contribute to my fitness. Partly because I am also challenged to take that extra step.

My friends are a very good and a very bad influence on me. It's just how you look at it. My friends influence my emotion. If my friends give me a positive and uplifting word then that makes me positive and excited. But if they have a bad message, it affects me and then I copy the emotion. I am a kind of emotion chameleon. I adapt my emotion to my environment.

When I am at a wedding I feel the love. Also the love for my friends. If my friends are sad or down in the dumps, then I care. I could describe every emotion like that, I have written about that many times. But most importantly, when I am connected to God and stay connected, I grow in charity. Not only love for my own friends and family, but also for the stranger who walks into my life. Therefore, I can only be thankful for my friends. And they are a good influence rather than a bad one on me.