TEAM413
April
24-27 Country Music Marathon and Expo
I've
been blessed to be a part of TEAM413 for quite some time. And, even
more so to be able to serve the Lord within the ministry. I have
been involved in a number of expos and feel that I am never the same
person when I leave. Between hearing testimonies and encouraging
runners and their families, I have seen God work in all kinds of
ways. But never so much and as personal as He did this weekend.
I
have learned from experience that, when the time comes to do God's
work, Satan likes to attack. Those attacks usually center around my
family's need for me to stay home or work related issues that seem
huge but can be handled away from the office. This time was
different. I ran the Boston marathon with my sister in 2010 and
promptly scratched it off my bucket list. Then... the bombing on
4/15/13 changed everything. I decided that I needed to qualify in
the event God wanted me there. Either way, I am ok. He directs my
paths and I was leaving that up to Him. And, I felt a strong urgency
to be in Nashville to reach “that one”. And to serve TEAM413 by
working at the expo, something I absolutely love to do.
It
started with some problems at my job and soon spilled over into my
home. Without going into detail, I will suffice it to say that Satan
was on the offensive. The final blow was the morning I was to leave,
I woke up with a severe outbreak of poison ivy and my mother was
taken to the ER with severe pain in her groin and legs and unable to
walk. At the discovery of this, I did what I do in hard times, I
went for a run and I talked to God. I was all the more incensed that
I would not back down and trusted that things would be ok when I got
home from my run. Well, they weren't ok but they were not life
threatening. My mother was diagnosed with shingles which was
attacking the largest nerve in her body making her unable to help
with my children in my absence. I immediately prayed and then called
friends who, by Gods grace, filled in the gap. My husband too did
more than I had ever witnessed. One prayer answered.
So,
off I went. The more I drove, the more the poison ivy spread until
it was not only on my arms but had moved to my face, stomach, back
and legs. I thought ok? You wanna play this game devil? I will NOT
go home!! So, I made it to Nashville. That morning I got up and
headed to the expo in a lot of pain and feeling miserable. Prayer
can get you through anything! Luckily, the spots on my face weren't
as bad as my arms so I was able to compose myself pretty well. I
didn't have much help that day as most of the members were unable to
break away until later in the day but I trusted God to meet my needs.
At one point, I actually prayed for a diet coke and a young man from
another vendor booth came by and we chatted he brought me a diet
coke. Later, I prayed for food and some relief, and my friend and
fellow member brought me Ivarest and some food. Wow! God is good!!
I
was glad to be able to not concentrate so much on my physical needs
at that point so I could more concentrate on silent prayer that God
would make me available and ready with the right words for anything.
I felt someone there needed to hear about Jesus. Little did I know
it would be the young man working in the booth next to me. Not even
a runner! He seemed to take pity on my situation and, at one point,
came and sat next to me and we talked. Nothing big at that point but
my heart felt his pain. There was something going on with him. Many
people shared their stories with me that day and I know God was there
and working through our booth. As I packed up to go to the hotel for
the evening to start fresh the next day, the young man in the booth
next to me came back. He asked me “Are you like super religious or
something?”. He was not saying it mean, he really wanted to know.
“No”, I replied. “But I do believe that Christ died to save me
from my sins and I believe in what I'm doing here. I also love Him
with all my heart and want to serve Him any way I can.” He wanted
to hear more. He shared with me a few things about his life and
honestly told me that he knew about Jesus but didn't buy into the
whole thing. We talked until they told us to leave. I gave him a
hug and told him that I would pray for him. Did I ever! I couldn't
get him off my mind and went to bed praying for him. I woke up to
the urge to pray for him. When I saw him that morning, I went up to
him and said, “ I don't know what's going on in your life, but I
have been praying for you and I will continue as long as I feel
called to do so.” He looked at me with tears in his eyes and said,
“you're weird.” He then smiled and hugged me for a long time.
He thanked me and then went back to his booth. I didn't get the
chance to talk to him anymore that day as we were busy. After
packing up that night, I went back to say bye and he was already
gone. I had given him my information so I was glad he could contact
me. As of now, he has not. But I will continue to pray for him.
Ironically, his name is Christian. I asked the lady that worked with
him to tell him that I had come to say goodbye and to keep in touch.
She told me that Christian was only 18 and his mother had just died.
He was dealing with many other things in his life as well. She
promised to relay the message to him. He was “the one.”
If
that's not enough of a story... it gets better. I was set to run the
Marathon the next morning. Alarm was set at 5 as it had been the
previous two days. Clothes were laid out and I was ready. One
problem. I couldn't stop itching! I couldn't get comfortable and I
couldn't sleep as hard as I tried. I finally took some melatonin
(natural sleep aid) and prayed for rest. Well, I got it! The alarm
didn't go off as usual (Satan's attack I'm sure). I was sleeping so
soundly. Leaned over to see how much longer I had to rest and the
clock said 6:17! AAAARrrrgghhh!!!! I jumped out of bed and called
my friends and began praying. Lord, if you want me in Boston, get me
to the start in time. Slapped on my clothes, grabbed my hat and fuel
belt and garmin and hit the car running. Ate half a cliff bar on the
way and half a diet coke. At that point, my adrenanline was high and
I was shaking. All the while, I was on speaker phone with my friend,
Jonna Taylor, telling me where to go and park. By Gods grace, I
encountered no traffic and found a parking spot right away. One
problem though, it required me to parallel park. I don't parallel
park... EVER! “Ok, Lord, I'm going for it.” I said. I whipped
that puppy in in about 30 seconds in a space so tight I would need a
can opener to get out. Then jumped out of car and pulled on my rain
jacket and sprinted to the golden arches where I would find my
team413 friends waiting. Hugged them, prayed with them and took a
picture. Off to the corral. What a mess!!! And then I remembered I
hadn't even gone to the bathroom yet! Oh well, that would have to
wait. In 5 minutes I was off and running. I wasn't even awake!!!!
How was I running?!!!
At
mile 3, had to stop at the porta potty and my bib fell off the fuel
belt and the plastic piece rolled under the thing. Gross!! I folded
the bib and told myself that my timing chip was in place and the bib
was only for photos. I didn't have time for mascara or lipstick so
who cares?!! Putting everything back in place was torture as it was
all wet. Seemed like slow motion and my hands wouldn't work. 4
minutes lost!! Ok, Lord, let's just do a sub 4. Seems you don't
want me to qualify and it's not meant to be. Then it hit me, this is
another attack! That's it!!! I thought to myself, it's on now! I
WILL qualify and I will praise Him and this is going to be the best
comeback story of all time! The more I praised Him, the faster I
got. When my hands went up in praise I was pulling down strength.
At mile 20, I caught up with the 3:45 pace group. Victory, I
thought! Then I heard it, don't settle for that time, let's go. So,
I passed them and prayed that my short little old legs would hold
out. I so felt his power and I knew I could do it! This was no
Rocky 3 movie! This was better. So, I crossed the finish line at
3:41:26. 18 seconds off my PR from 2009. I was in shock! I so
felt his power that I felt like hiding from His presence. It was too
much! He loves me!!!! Enough to do this through me. How humbled I
was that He would use me to show His presence. I accepted my medal
and walked away crying in the rain. It was overwhelming. I went
from wondering if I would make it there in time to crossing the
finish line in Boston qualifying time. All the rest was a blur!
I
went straight to meeting place B to wait for my friends to finish.
The rain was still coming down and I was now starting to freeze. So,
I took shelter with a view of the meeting place. Two kind people let
me use their cell phones to call and let Kiki know what was going on
and that I was going to go find a way home. I was too cold and stiff
to wait any longer. I walked out of the shelter in the pouring rain
and prayed “God, you have always guided my steps, get me back to my
car.” And then, I saw a group of ladies and felt compelled to ask
them if they were headed back to the start line where my car was
parked. No surprise! Yes, they were. Thank you God. They said
they would be glad to take me to my car and we walked to the gas
station to wait for her daughter to get it and come back. On the way
to the gas station, they noticed the poison ivy rash on my arms that,
by now, was red and bleeding. One of the ladies said “You were
that girl at the expo in line getting her packet at the same time we
were that was covered in calamine lotion! We have been praying for
you!!” What?!! For me?! I began to cry as we walked and talked
about how great the Lord was to bring us all together. They had been
praying for me... a stranger. And, I was praying for them to get me
home. Coincidence? Of course not!! As we waited for the daughter
to pick us up, we shared stories of how great God was and I told them
about TEAM413 and how I live to find “the one” that God needs me
to help. She said that I was “the one” that she had prayed to
help. Wow!!! I had never felt to intimately touched by the Lord as
I did in that moment. When I got back to my car, we all prayed and I
thanked them and told them that I would never forget them. And, they
vowed the same. As I got in my car and fastened my seat belt, for
the first time that day, I could relax. And, I cried. And cried.
Overwhelmed at His amazing love for me.
I
don't know what God has in store for me but I do know two things, He
loves me and I will never back down from His calling! I love the
Lord with all my heart, my soul and all my strength. I can indeed
do “All things through Christ who strengthens me.”
