Earphones in…shoes tied…and begin.
I begin my jog and quickly my thoughts start focusing on certain things that have been on my mind as of late. "What the heck am I supposed to do about fundraising? Am I bugging people about it? Dude so little time to prepare for this production coming in May? What set list should I put together for this Saturday? Oh my gosh her wedding is coming up!….." And so on and so forth.
I struggled through the first fifteen minutes because of my lack of focus and thought about just stopping to walk so I could think things through, but then I was like, "No Marie you said you were going to run for 20 minutes so that is what you are going to do, gosh darn it!" At that moment I just made the decision to turn off my mind completely and just run. So that's what I did!
I just ran…..and ran….and ran! In runner's terms I got my SECOND WIND. After awhile I realized that my music was no longer playing. I had gone through my whole playlist so I just pulled my earphones out and kept running. My mind was set on one thing….running!
Time went by and suddenly I snapped back to reality. My legs hurt…but I was still running! I looked down at my timer and….HOT DANG I had been running for 45 minutes! Before I realized I was tired I shut off my brain and continued on.
Glance down at the timer again…55 minutes! "Five more minutes Marie! Push hard! Finish strong!" Thats what I told myself (yes I talk to myself when I work out) and then I shut off my mind and ran at full speed for the last five minutes!
When the timer hit 60 minutes I stopped, doubled over trying to catch my breath, and then turned my mind back on…and wouldn't you know it while I'm standing there sucking wind my mind says to me "Woohoo Marie lets keep going!"
This was a crazy thing for me. I don't run for an hour. I usually struggle to get twenty minutes but you know what…today I discovered something…you just have to push out all distractions and move forward until you get that SECOND WIND!
Later on that night I led worship for a weekly bible study and on my way there God spoke to me profoundly "Marie, so you are able to focus and push through physically…how about spiritually? Do you realize the amazing things I have for you, the things I have to tell you, the moments I want to share with you. But usually when you get tired after about 15 minutes you allow yourself to get distracted by the things going on in life and you stop pressing into my presence. How about shutting off all distractions and just waiting for that SECOND WIND? Let me show you what it's like to spiritually get your SECOND WIND!"
Wow….Wow! Can I tell you that in that worship set I had the most rich and deep exprience in the presence of God that I have really ever had! I was supposed to lead worship for about 15 minutes and ended up going for almost an hour and when I snapped back to reality and opened my eyes literally everyone in the room was as lost and engaged in the presence of God as I was! When I finally prayed to end worship the first thought to go through my mind was "Woohoo Marie lets keep going!"
My encouragement to you who are reading this is…keep pressing in! If you are tired, questioning if you can do it, frustrated with the results that you see, heartbroken by apparent failure….Just keep pressing in and wait for that
SECOND WIND! It will come! This applies to everything in life but the most important application is for your spiritual life! Try it….I promise it works. Don't let your lack of focus take you out of the race. Turn off everything else around you and press on toward the goal that is set before you! Trust…Believe…and Run! Your
SECOND WIND is only moments away!
If you feel lead to donate to my World Race (11 months in 11 countries bringing the love of God to all we come in contact with) You have no idea what it would mean to me! My goal is to be completely funded by the time I leave in July 2013. I need to raise $15,500. I have raised a little bit through support and worked hard to raise most of what I have. It will take a complete miracle for this to happen! Lucky for me I serve a God who does miracles and loves to give to His children. I need your help! Be a part of the miracle! Lives will be changed for the good on this trip (mine included 
) and although you may not be able to physically go you can be a part through your giving! If you want to check out exactly what I'm doing go to www.thworldrace.org. Then once you realize how amazing this cause is you can come back to my blog: marieolson.theworldrace.org and click on the SUPPORT ME (DONATE) link on the left side of your screen. All donations are tax deductible. Then you can subscribe to my blog and recieve updates on the many miracles, salvations, and lives changed that you have helped make possible through your giving!
Love you all!
Joyfully,
Marie Olson
