ready to run.

thanks for the picture Ron!

some of our team: Paul, Anthony, me, Jamie Helton, Alexis, Carrie and Alison.

On Saturday I ran my first ever real race.

A 5k.

And, I lived.


No hospital stays required, no need for oxygen tank...though I did almost throw up on a police officer standing just past the finish line. That would have been a story...and a HUGE embarrassment.

It was POURING rain when I met my friend Jaime at Starbucks to head downtown together.

We parked and headed down to the Courthouse grounds where we were meeting up with the rest of our team, named by our "coach" Alexis, team "Wii not fit."

We were SOAKED by the time we got there. My yellow rain coat proved useless as well as my camera which had a dead battery. NICE.

Regardless, we were all happy to see one another, ready to start the race. The race we all committed to for our dear friend Alexis. Alexis who showed up in the rain, after enduring chemo just two days before with her umbrella in hand ready to cheer us on.

I love that girl.

I also love Ron & Carole {who are like another set of Grandparents to all the children in our church} who appreared out of nowhere, to also cheer us on!

So, the race began. It was a mess...but Jamie and I were off to a decent start. Soon we heard the police force behind us, chanting motivational cheers, enough to keep us all going. At about the halfway mark we passed by a huge crowd of spectators, Alexis among them cheering us on...we kept going. Just before the two mile mark I got a second{ish} wind and as I turned the corner unto main street, saw the finish line and didn't stop.

My friend Jamie and I had a goal to finish within a half hour and I finished just past the half hour mark and Jamie not far behind.

I loathe running. I don't get it. I don't get the fun, enjoyment that so many people find in it. But on Saturday friends, I felt a small enjoyment in running. As Jamie and I walked back to the car, wrung out our socks and headed home we talked about doing it again, so glad we had committed to and finished the race.

After a cup of coffee, I hopped into one of the best showers of my life, and I began thinking about my friend Alexis, how much pain she has had to endure, how brave she is, how much of an encouragement she is to me.

I thought about my commitment to Christ. thought about how often I lose heart, giving in to the world too often.
I thought about Paul who in 2 Corinthians talks about not losing heart, about the treasure we have in the knowledge of the glory of God.

" So we DO NOT lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away,
our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light
momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight
of glory BEYOND all comparison.." -2 Corinthians 4:16,17

While the mild pains I endured during the race are nothing compared to what people deal with every day, there were several times during the race where I just wanted to give up, completely. To not care if I finished in an hour, or at all. I pressed on, and when I crossed that finish line the pain was all forgotten. There was joy. Of course this joy was not even comparable to the "glory beyond all comparison" Paul talks about, but it was a WONDERFUL reminder to me of that great ETERNAL reward.

I pray I continue to run toward Christ. That I embrace hardship, press on, and "look no to things that are seen, but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal." -2 Corinthians 4:18