Nashville Marathon

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.”