"And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose." -Romans 8:28
Training is a hard thing to do, especially when you're starting out as a "baby". When you're new to something and you begin to train, it's painful. It's stressful. You'll probably cry when you feel like giving up. That's how I've felt for the past 5 months of training. For the past 5 months, I've cried. I've sweat. I've been in immense pain. But it's been worth it because the end goal was a half marathon, something the enemy has been telling me I cannot accomplish. Little does he know. I have Christ on my side, and through Him I can do anything; I can do all things.
I've never been a runner. Sure, I ran in high school, and I was actually good at it, but I've always hated it. When Jeremy and I got accepted to the World Race back in September, I decided to start training for an actual race, one that would be feasilbe for me to do in the alloted time left in the states. In November I started running, a little at first, then more and more. My goal? The "From the Heart" half marathon that is to take place on May 5th in Owatonna, MN. I've been excited. I've been scared. I've cried thinking, "What did I sign up for?". But I've known all along that God would see me through it as long as I was deligent in my training, which I have been.
A few weeks ago, my ankle started hurting when I ran. It was a little at first, but the pain seemed to get worse every time I ran. I shrugged it off and decided it was just a sore muscle from the excessive training I was doing (yes, because I'm a doctor…). However, this past weekend I was in Wisconsin visiting Silver Birch Ranch (our home away from home) and I ran while I was there, getting my last few days of training in before the big race on Saturday! The terrain is much different there than it is here in Rochester. Afterwards, my ankle hurt a lot more than usual. I half-heartidly asked God to make it feel better until after the race so I could run without pain. However, quite the opposite happened. It started hurting a lot more. I figured it was because of the "intense" hills I was running while in WI that I wasn't used to running here. But the pain has persisted, so today I went to the orthopedic doctor. When describing to him the pain, he said it sounded like a fracture, and "felt" around a bit. He called for some x-rays, which I felt were just a waste of time since it was just a "sore muscle". I was hoping he'd tell me to wear an ankle brace and take it easy after the race.
Much to my dismay, he came back into the room after the tests and shared that I have a fractured tibia and that I can NOT run in Saturday's race. Um, what?! You're joking, right? But I've been training for FIVE MONTHS! The race is in TWO DAYS! He apologetically told me that he advises me NOT to run in the race. If I were to run, it could mean a lot more than just a fractured bone.
"God, what are You doing here?"
I called Jeremy, crying, and told him the sad news. He expressed sincere compassion in my situation, and then expressed some amazing encouragement. Maybe it was never about the race. Maybe it wasn't about me knowing that I could run 13.1 miles in a race and finish. I've already proved that I can do that. Maybe it was about God preparing me for THE RACE, the World Race, instead. I always had that in the back of my head, which is part of the reason I decided to do this in the first place. "Maybe He had you train because you'll be used more effectively now than you would have had you not trained". He was training me for The Race, not the race. Make sense? The World Race vs. half marathon race.
For the past five months, He's put into my heart to memorize Scripture as I ran. He's asked me to listen to sermons, encouraging music, and reminded me that He and He alone is my source of strength. He's the reason I began this training anyway. He's the one that will use it, and better than that…He'll use it to bring glory to Himself. This training is not in vain. It honestly feels that way right now, but He'll use it. He always does. This is a bad thing (at least to me), but He uses those "bad things" to make good things!
As for me, I'm currently wearing a boot, or as I like to call it a "moon boot", that I'll have for the next month. Yes, that means wearing this hideous thing at training camp. THAT should be fun. I'm just so grateful that it happened NOW and not on The World Race. I'm not even gone yet and I'm already so grateful for the amazing healthcare we hace here in the states. It's something we take for granted way too often.
