wow. woah.
the fitness hike. the thing every racer anticipates when coming to world race training camp. but for those of you who don’t know, the fitness hike is a timed 2.2 mile hike with your pack on.. a 40-50 pound pack.
going into it i was pretty pumped and didn’t think it was going to be terrible, but little did i know that RUNNING is key to this hike. I enjoy running but never with an extra 40 pounds on my back. um, ow pain. to start – this hike was hot, we were sweaty, but we were determined and all while running through a very beautiful trail. about 1/4 of the way into the hike we come to a hill. maybe more of a mountain if you will. walking up this “hill”, i was in so much physical pain, and with so much weight on my back. every time i took a step and looked up, the hill looked like it was never-ending.. it just kept going and going. i wanted to quit so bad and was so sure that i could not finish. but wait! there’s more! there’s also so much beauty that the Lord taught me. throughout the hike, my super cool, super awesome squad mates and leaders were all along side the trail cheering and speaking life into my teammates and i while we are literally on the verge of passing out and crying.
the most beautiful thing i witnessed and was able to be apart of was the finish. STAY W/ ME! i get to the homestretch and i am dead sprinting to the finish. it may have been more like a jog but i’ll call it a sprint to make me feel better. i was just ready to finish bc of the physical pain i was in. when i get there, other squad mates are celebrating and helping me take my pack off. not because of the time or place i finished in but simply because i made it to the end. the release i felt when the weight was taken off of my shoulders felt so amazing. it was the true feeling of freedom. i imagine this is was the body of Christ is supposed to look like; people running along side you encouraging you towards freedom that the Father has waiting for you. when it felt like the weight of the world was lifted off of my shoulders, all i wanted to do was to go right next to people and run towards freedom with them. “i know you are in pain and i know you feel gross, but there is freedom at the end of this that is waiting for you. let me run alongside you and encourage you to get there.” this is all i could think of and wanted for everyone else. ugh. wow.
being so grateful and so excited for what the lord just taught got me so pumped for the next 9 months with these people i get to call family. and the sweetest thing was that i got to see this imagery come to life 5 days later! we had a session about vulnerability. that could be a whole blog topic within its self. but this was something so scary and something everyone on my team wanted to avoid. but God calls us to do some scary, uncomfortable things. i mean c’mon, He called me to come live with bugs and shower w/ snakes. as we wrapped up the session, our squad split up into our teams and we sat with the lord and asked Him if there was anything we needed to share and bring to light. scary. my team and i sat in silence with heavy hearts for a solid 5 minutes not wanting to share a thing. then all it took was one person to lead in vulnerability to start a beautiful run towards freedom. as one person shared the deepest part of their heart that had been hidden in darkness, another person shared, and then another, and then our whole team. we all shared the little parts of our testimonies that we promised ourselves we would never tell a soul because of shame, pain, guilt, and darkness. as one person ran towards freedom releasing the weight of darkness off of their backs, we were all able to do it one after another. we celebrated with tears of freedom and no longer felt alone in the pain of our baggage. we all ran together to bring our packs to light and dance in the grace that the Father so freely gives and always gives. HOW BEAUTIFUL!?!?
but this – this is community. i’ve never experienced anything like it before. i’m experiencing and understanding what true community is and this is just a small glimpse and image that the father gave me. these people fight for each other and being around them everyday is so life-giving and encouraging. the church and body of Christ is so evident in the way we serve each other, encourage each other, and run with each other towards Christ. Y’ALL! i get to live this life with these people for NINE MONTHS. so so sweet!
wow, thanks God <3
