Skip to content
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Youtube
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest

Welcome to Blessed is She, where we love Jesus & you.

Free U.S. Standard Shipping On Orders $75+

Shipping FAQ Contact Live
Search
  • Content
  • Shop
  • Community
  • Experiences
  • About
Blessed Is She
Account Search Cart
  • Content Toggle menu
    • Devotions
      Devotions
    • Blog
      Blog
    • BIS Member Community
      BIS Member Community
    • Podcast
      Podcast
    • Free Resources
      Free Resources
  • Shop Toggle menu
    • By Category Toggle menu
      • Accessories
      • Apparel
      • Books & Studies
      • Cards & Booklets
      • Home & Wall Decor
      • Candles
      • Jewelry
      • Journals
      • Planners
      • Rosaries
    • Featured Toggle menu
      • New
      • Best Sellers
      • 🎄 Christmas in July Sale
      • 📒 Liturgical Planners
      • For Men
      • For Kids
      • Gifts
      • Sale
      • Start a Return
    • 2025-2026 PLANNERS
      2025-2026 PLANNERS
    • SHOP ALL
      SHOP ALL
  • Community Toggle menu
    • Blessed Brunches
    • Regional Groups
    • Small Group Studies
    • Blessed is She Membership Community
    • College Students
    • Retreat
  • Experiences Toggle menu
    October 10-11, 2025

    The New Retreat

    Join us as we let God bring our dry bones back to brand new and vibrant life.

    register
  • About Toggle menu
    • What's New
    • About Blessed is She
    • Staff + Writers
    • Support Blessed is She
Left
  • Content Toggle menu
    • Devotions
      Blog
      BIS Member Community
      Podcast
      Free Resources
  • Shop Toggle menu
    • By Category Toggle menu
      • Accessories
      • Apparel
      • Books & Studies
      • Cards & Booklets
      • Home & Wall Decor
      • Candles
      • Jewelry
      • Journals
      • Planners
      • Rosaries
    • Featured Toggle menu
      • New
      • Best Sellers
      • 🎄 Christmas in July Sale
      • 📒 Liturgical Planners
      • For Men
      • For Kids
      • Gifts
      • Sale
      • Start a Return
    • 2025-2026 PLANNERS
      SHOP ALL
  • Community Toggle menu
    • Blessed Brunches
    • Regional Groups
    • Small Group Studies
    • Blessed is She Membership Community
    • College Students
    • Retreat
  • Experiences Toggle menu
    October 10-11, 2025

    The New Retreat

    Join us as we let God bring our dry bones back to brand new and vibrant life.

    register
  • About Toggle menu
    • What's New
    • About Blessed is She
    • Staff + Writers
    • Support Blessed is She
Planners 📒
Catholic Academic Liturgical Planner // Mini Layout
19% off
Left Right Quick buy
Catholic Academic Liturgical Planner // Mini Layout
$ 840.00 $ 1,031.00 Sale
Catholic Liturgical Academic Planner // Big Layout
17% off
Left Right Quick buy
Catholic Liturgical Academic Planner // Big Layout
$ 916.00 $ 1,107.00 Sale
Litany of Humility Magnetic Bookmarks
33% off
Left Right Quick buy
Litany of Humility Magnetic Bookmarks
$ 229.00 $ 344.00 Sale
catholic digital planner for the academic year
Left Right Quick buy
Catholic Digital Planner for Liturgical Living
$ 478.00
Planner Page Digital Download - Blessed Is She Digital Download
Left Right Quick buy
Planner Page Digital Download
$ 96.00
Academic Planner Accessory Bundle - Blessed Is She
46% off
Left Right Quick buy
Planner Accessory Bundle
$ 726.00 $ 1,336.00 Sale
Planner Stickers - Blessed Is She Stickers
20% off
Left Right Quick buy
Catholic Planner Stickers
$ 229.00 $ 287.00 Sale
Notepad // Pure In Heart - Blessed Is She Accessories
20% off
Left Right Quick buy
Notepad // Pure In Heart
$ 153.00 $ 191.00 Sale
Magnetic Bookmarks // Pure In Heart - Blessed Is She Accessories
17% off
Left Right Quick buy
Magnetic Bookmarks // Pure In Heart
$ 287.00 $ 344.00 Sale
Pure In Heart Lock Screens
Left Right Quick buy
Pure In Heart Lock Screens
$ 96.00
Shipping FAQ Contact Live
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Youtube
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
IT'S CHRISTMAS IN JULY 🎄☀️ SHOP UP TO 50% OFF →
Welcome, we're so glad you're here 💜

Running Without Music, Not Without Purpose

fasting from music

On the day of my first marathon, I woke up at 4:30 a.m. After dressing in my running shorts and tank top, I found a Sharpie and opened my journal to the page where I’d written the bulleted list. I took the marker to my forearm, the cool point rippling along my skin with gentle pressure. The words cascaded from my wrists to biceps, wobblier on the left arm than the right. On my body numbered one through 26 were my prayer intentions, one for each mile of the race.

Running the Race So as to Win

When I signed up for the marathon, I decided I would run without any music. I wanted to immerse myself without any buffers, but still felt a need for structure, something to fill the time. My 26 prayer intentions included family members, world issues, personal dreams. Like most people, I wasn’t running this marathon to get a good workout, but to accomplish something that I thought would make me feel amazing. I wanted a motivator to propel me forward in this race, to take me outside of myself and the physical pain.

At the sound of the starting gun, my belly swam through my insides as I strode to keep up with the runners around me. Some of them started to talk, comparing times and setting paces. I buckled in for the solitude and silence. As the single-digit miles moved along with punctuations of cheering supporters and water stations, my prayers remained earnest. Some fluent thoughts passed through my mind the first few minutes of each mile, until the prayer became increasingly passive, a background mantra chanting in my brain.

Perseverance on the Pavement

With each step forward, concentration waned. Prayer lost its luster as my muscles swelled and breath accelerated. Boredom ensued, and the only thing to do was run. By mile 12, I was no longer thinking about my prayer intentions, many of which had become curling black flakes of marker smeared across my skin. I hit my wall, and could only think about how badly I wanted to be done.

I’d love to say I became rejuvenated somewhere in the later miles, that I felt God’s push and re-centered myself to gain direction and purpose.

I didn’t.

I just ran, my stride becoming a shuffle. The flat terrain of Council Bluffs, Iowa spanned around me, a backdrop of quiet parks and monotonous pavement. My brilliant friends made appearances at various mile markers, and my roommate FaceTimed my family so they could see me run from two states away. These moments energized me for a few minutes, then silence would throb as their cheers subsided in the distance. For much of the race, I was bored and lonely.

The joy of seeing the last mile marker provided more relief than I thought possible. I had an amazing finish. My legs did not feel a part of my body, my breath was not my own. I panted and cried just a bit. My friends circled me with hugs and water, their love as thick as the humid Midwestern heat.

Letting Myself Down?

At the end of the race, I didn’t feel invincible. Of course, I was proud and happy. But I allowed the weakness and brokenness I felt from the physical exhaustion and desolate silence to disappoint me. It was disheartening to realize that as powerful as my body felt, my spirit had not kept up. Self-imposed expectations prevented me from accepting the spiritual difficulties I endured: if I had prayed better or harder, I would feel unstoppable right now.

My Weakness, His Power

I confused my human act of prayer with God’s strength. Whether or not I completed the race and stuck to my prayer goal had little importance. He let me finish in spite of my weakness, not to prove my own ability, but so that I could witness His power. I had contorted prayer into a transaction, thinking I would find peace and spiritual fulfillment during the marathon if I stuck to my plan. Music or not, marathons are grueling. My prayer did not change that fact, but it forced me to face my weakness and see it not as an inhibitor, but an opportunity for God’s strength to prevail above my shortcomings.

As I experience desolation in different forms today, I continue to make attempts at prayer and fail. Some days, I don’t try at all. I am frustrated when I think I lack the aptitude to be close to God. I set expectations for prayer that go unfulfilled, focusing on my own capabilities instead of His. I pray that God will make me stronger, ask He asks me to rely on His force alone. Though I resist, it is only through total dependence that I can find freedom from the deceptive allure of self-sufficiency.

His Constant Help

My marathon story is not a lesson of failure and perseverance, hard work and success. It is a story of weakness that demands me to let go of pride and independence in order to accept God’s strength. Life bears obstacles far more intense than the physical toll of a marathon, and though I may not have the strength to weather the next challenge, He always will.

 

Running Without Music, Not Without Purpose #BISblog //Click to tweet Twitter

 

Grace Spiewak resides outside of Chicago, where she learns and writes about Latin, ancient history, and her Catholic Faith. She works as a college librarian and holds degrees from Creighton University and University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Outside of the library, Grace enjoys exploring Chicago on foot or bike, especially with her family and friends.

Blessed is She - Blessed Is She
About Blessed is She
View other posts from the author

CHRISTMAS IN JULY SALE 🎄
GET YOUR PLANNER
*FREE* SUMMER SERIES
SUPPORT THE BIS MISSION
Share
  • Facebook Share on Facebook
  • Twitter Share on Twitter
  • Pinterest Pin it
July 12, 2021 — Blessed Is She
Tags: Author_BlessedIsShe BLOG LIVES prayer
Left Older Post Back to Blog Newer Post Right

Left What's New Right

View all
I Sought the Lord Black Kids Water Bottle
22% off
Left Right Quick buy
I Sought the Lord Black Kids Water Bottle
$ 268.00 $ 344.00 Sale
dad hat catholic women
33% off
Left Right Quick buy
Take Heart 6-Panel Dad Hat for Women
$ 382.00 $ 573.00 Sale
New Retreat 2025 // October 10-11, 2025 in Tempe, AZ
Left Right Quick buy
New Retreat 2025 // October 10-11, 2025 in Tempe, AZ
$ 3,435.00
prayer prompt journal
33% off
Left Right Quick buy
Heart to Heart Prayer Prompt Journal
$ 191.00 $ 287.00 Sale
Cover of Abide in His Love Gospel of John study guide
20% off
Left Right Quick buy
Catholic Bible Study: The Gospel of John // Abide in His Love
$ 458.00 $ 573.00 Sale
Hardcover Eucharist study guide with full-color pages
17% off
Left Right Quick buy
Gift // Study on the Eucharist
From $ 287.00 $ 344.00 Sale
Gift lock screens
Left Right Quick buy
Gift // Lock Screens
$ 96.00
Abide in His Love lock screens
Left Right Quick buy
Abide in His Love // Lock Screens
$ 96.00
Catholic Academic Liturgical Planner // Mini Layout
19% off
Left Right Quick buy
Catholic Academic Liturgical Planner // Mini Layout
$ 840.00 $ 1,031.00 Sale
Catholic Liturgical Academic Planner // Big Layout
17% off
Left Right Quick buy
Catholic Liturgical Academic Planner // Big Layout
$ 916.00 $ 1,107.00 Sale
Litany of Humility Magnetic Bookmarks
33% off
Left Right Quick buy
Litany of Humility Magnetic Bookmarks
$ 229.00 $ 344.00 Sale
Wall Crucifix // 12 inch
24% off
Left Right Quick buy
Wall Crucifix // 12 inch
$ 726.00 $ 955.00 Sale
Saintly Soaps
25% off
Left Right Quick buy
Saintly Soaps
$ 287.00 $ 382.00 Sale
Morning Joy Mug
20% off
Left Right Quick buy
Morning Joy Mug
$ 229.00 $ 287.00 Sale
Litany of Humility Print Set (3-piece)
20% off
Left Right Quick buy
Litany of Humility Print Set (3-piece)
$ 229.00 $ 287.00 Sale
Come Holy Spirit Print (11x14)
30% off
Left Right Quick buy
Come Holy Spirit Print (11x14)
$ 268.00 $ 382.00 Sale
catholic water bottle
33% off
Left Right Quick buy
Morning Star 40oz water bottle
$ 573.00 $ 859.00 Sale
Hand-Lettered Hail Mary Poster (11x14)
10% off
Left Right Quick buy
Hand-Lettered Hail Mary Poster (11x14)
$ 344.00 $ 382.00 Sale
Blessed Brunch Tableware Pack
25% off
Left Right Quick buy
Blessed Brunch Tableware Pack
$ 287.00 $ 382.00 Sale
Black Miraculous Medal for Men on stainless steel chain
15% off
Left Right Quick buy
Black Miraculous Medal for Men
$ 325.00 $ 382.00 Sale
Welcome to Blessed Is She

Blessed is She is a sisterhood of women who want to grow in their relationship with Jesus Christ through their Catholic faith.

Blessed Is She
Quick links
  • Support BIS
  • Subscribe to the Devos
  • About Us
  • FAQ
  • Contact
  • Affiliates Program
  • Wholesale Login
Social
  • YouTube
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter
  • Amazon
American Express Diners Club Discover JCB Maestro Mastercard PayPal Union Pay Venmo Visa
  • Privacy Policy
  • Shipping & Returns
  • Terms of Service
© 2025 Blessed Is She. Powered by Shopify
To Top