so this past weekend was the st jude half marathon. SUCH a fun day! on the way there, i always get nervous and my stomach gets in all kinds of knots. thankfully my dad took me again this year and dropped me off while he went to the peabody to grab a hearty breakfast and i froze with the chilly wind blowing as i anxiously waited in my corral. the weather was beautiful, even though it was a tad cold. the worst part of it is the waiting. the morning of the race, everyone is so eager to get to running and it seems like we are waiting an eternity to cross the starting line and make our way 13.1 miles! (or 26.2). i ran into two friends which was great and helped settle some of my anxiousness. finally, around 8:14 am, my corral came to the starting line...and we were off! my goal was to run about a 9:40-9:45 mile, and i ended up doing about a 9:01 mile...and finished in 1:57:56...i think a personal best! long runs for me have become praise sessions lately. as much pain and struggle as i sometimes feel and feel like i can't continue any further, i have been listening to more and more worship music. this has brought so much encouragement in my running, because instead of thinking about the struggling and that i can't sometimes breathe well, i find myself being reminded to praise and thank the Lord for everything in my life and who He is in my life. which alluding to reality, it makes me think of our Christian walk/"run"/growth, where even in the hard things and struggles, we are called to give the Lord everything and to praise Him and be thankful in all things. i am signed up for the nashville country music half in april! hopefully running with my cousin...who is also now addicted to running! a song to download for inspirational running- waiting here for you by the passion band.
i have been amazed this past week at the Lord's provision in my life. last week was one of the hardest i have been through in a while, and even though it was difficult, it was humbling in that it turned my attentions to Him and to rely solely on Him. i constantly thought last week OK Lord i know you don't give me more than i can handle, but this sure seems like more right now! but He is faithful even in my doubting. so much was going on last week, it became a blur. something someone said to me recently (older wiser advice) was sometimes when we are listening for what the Lord wants, our thoughts cloud our thinking and sometimes we want to talk to a bunch of people and try to hear the answer we think we need to hear, but she said the one way that the Lord has truly made His presence known and spoken to her was when she was walking and by herself and she was just simply PRAISING God and being quiet in her mind...and the Lord calmed her and she knew He was there and speaking to her in the quietness.
so many things to learn about our Savior and His workings in our lives. i am humbled that He so desires to know us and know our hearts.
yay successful run...check. paper...almost check. finals...coming soon! happy monday!!! and beginning of december! 20 days until CHRISTMAS!