This is for my friend who ALWAYS puts others first….

I had a friend ask me to write another blog…I was surprised, but I thought about this friend and what I could write to help her along, here is what I came up with.

2 Chronicles 15:7

But as for you, be strong and do not give up, for your work will be rewarded.

I have always admired those who could run long distances.  Some people just seemed to have the ability to do so.  I had REALLY admired those who could do a marathon.  It REALLY sounds cool to me when someone says “Oh, I ran a marathon just last week and beat my time from last year”. Girls would just say that like it was no big deal. Well, I wanted to be that person too!  So, I started running. 

Man, at first I couldn’t even run a mile. NOT ONE MILE!!! I couldn’t stand to listen to myself breath so I turned up the ipod. I couldn’t get out of my mind how much farther I HAD to go.  It was a struggle to get there.  Keep in mind before this I had NO running experience at all.  I got some e-mails and ran some with a group from the Y. Well, now after much running and some more running I have trained myself to run the half marathon in Norfolk on June 18. Now, I’m no racer, but I know I can make it that far and that was my challenge in the beginning.  The funny thing is, I LOVE running now. I don’t listen to any music, I just run.  That one mile that was so hard to do in the beginning is easier now and I can go so much farther.

I have met up with some REAL racers for some long distances runs.  It just takes a few minutes and this group is nowhere in sight! I’m left there on my own to figure out the path we had previously sketched out in our minds. I kept up my rather slow pace, enjoying the quite neighborhood. About 20 minutes later I heard “the fast group” coming from behind me and was wondering how this happened. I ran a little faster, the feeling of “the fast group” BEHIND me was great! For that second, I felt like a fast runner and it was great for that second…then they past me! After they were ahead of me, someone shouted back to me that they had actually took the wrong path. I just kept on running and at this point in my training even walking a little, but I finished.  My two legs took me the same distance as “the fast group” just so much slower. I enjoyed telling people later that day for a little while I was ahead. 

So, to my friend who doesn’t need advice but will get it anyway from me. It’s ok to put other first; in fact it is the way God intended. They may even need you to show them the right path!