So this morning as I was running I was talking to Jesus. Today is my last day of planned ministry of the World Race. I asked Him what He thought? How did I do? How did we all do? I felt an overwhelming sense of peace and joy as the heavens literally opened up and rain poured down. This is a moment I will never forget.
Now for some of you, this might not sound like a great gift, but for me, it’s perfect. Running in the rain is one of my favorite things. I think I may have been slightly “brainwarshed” (I purposely added the “r” in there because that’s how he says it) by my dad who would always say, “I’d to pay to run on a day like today” during the worse weather conditions.
During this run, the Lord reminded me of 3 years ago when I ran a marathon but I need to rewind first and tell you more about my dad.
I remember as a little girl waking up in the summer and seeing my dad running laps on our street. Sometimes I would join him for a lap or two. But one morning I remember going outside and seeing a table set up in our driveway. It had water, power bars and PowerAde I think.
My dad had set out to run a marathon that day. He always said that he wanted to run one before he turned 40 so I guess his time was ticking. But the thing about our cute little cul-de-sac was that one lap equals a fourth of a mile! So my dad had to run 105 laps around our street and he did it. I may have gotten some of my determination from him.
So I grew up loving to run also. I ran cross-country and track and my dad was my coach. I would run early with him before school, during the hot summer, on vacations, all the time. He was great though, he could care less if I was good at running or even if I ran but he supported me every step of the way.
When I went to college I decided it would be fun to take the Advanced Running Class. To pass this class you have to run a marathon. This is something that I always wanted to do sense I had watched my dad do it.
The training was hard and we only had 4 months to get our bodies in shape to run this 26.2 mile run. After many early mornings and long runs the day had come and my entire family had traveled to cheer me on. Now this story is about my dad so I am going to focus on him even though my whole family was so supportive.
This was a big race so every runner got a chip to place on our shoe so we could be tracked the whole time. My dad knew exactly where I was the whole race. I would get to see him here and there but I knew that he was following me every step of the way. There was one point of the race that tears started to fill my eyes as the pain in all my joints continued to increase. I did not want to stop running by I was getting tired and I could hardly find the strength to continue on.
My dad made it to this point and saw me and without hesitation he ducked under the rope and came right beside me. He ran the hardest part of this race with me. Because of him in this moment I was able to finish the marathon and finish strong.
Not only did I know that my dad had faced this task of running a marathon before and not only did I know that he was my biggest fan and not only did I know that he supported me no matter how well I actually did, but I also knew that he was there the whole time and even in my hardest time, he ran right beside me.
Today on my run, Jesus showed me how beautifully my dad imitated Himself!
Jesus has already run the race. He lived here on earth and suffered so much more than I will ever have to. Jesus is my biggest fan. He loves me so much and He chose me. Jesus supports me even when I mess up, His beautiful grace covers it all. And Jesus is always there for me! And in my hardest times, He has allowed me to feel Him so close and He gives me the strength to carry on!
