The Journey.

6 months ago I sat in the waiting room at a radiology office awaiting an MRI on my hip. I had been having tightness in my hip for a while and the tightness had started to turn into a sharp pain in my groin. Having torn my labrum 3 years ago, I knew that what I was feeling were all symptoms of another tear. My doctor had ordered the test to find out and I knew going in to it that if the results did in fact show a tear, that I would be retiring from running at the ripe old age of 25.

So, there I sat. Waiting. I was a wreck. I was pretty convinced that my labrum was torn and I was about to walk away from the thing that my life was centered on. I like to say that running isn’t just a sport, it’s a lifestyle. Just about everything I do revolves around around running and how my running will be affected. I feel that the following video sums it all up pretty well…

What happened next has forever changed my life. As I was lying on the table almost in tears feeling nothing but unrest and anxiety and fear, I began to pray. I began to pray for forgiveness. Running had become my God and God had become somewhat of a lucky rabbit’s foot, if you will. I began to pray for peace. I began to pray that He would guide me on what to do with my life now that I was no longer going to be a runner.

I truly believe God spoke to me that very moment. Not in the big booming, coming down from heaven voice kind of way, but in a way that I knew He was talking to me. I left that MRI filled with complete peace and confident that my running career was not in fact over. I felt that He was telling me that He wanted me to use my running to share His greatness with the world.

In the days after the MRI I decided to run again. I had taken time off because the pain had gotten so bad. Within 3 days, the pain was completely gone. I was back and running pain free. Pain like that doesn’t just go away after 3 days, especially while trying to run on it. So, I started training again and have had no hip pain since.

Here I sit, 6 months later, having just received news that I will be representing Team USA  at a cross country meet in Scotland on January 7, 2012. I look back on this fall season and am in complete awe of what the Lord has done in my life. This fall season was supposed to be strictly a base training period. There were no expectations. I am finishing it off with a new lifetime PR in the 5k, 6k, and 10k. I just have to laugh because this has been God’s plan for me all along. Through all the injuries and hard times, he was teaching me. He was helping me grow. He was preparing me for this moment. My hope in Christ and an eternal life in heaven with Him is what has gotten me through everything.

I don’t mean to sit here and preach at you, but I just can’t help but talk about my running without talking about my faith. The 2 are no longer separate passions in my life. The things I have accomplished this fall are not my own doing. There is no way. Yes, I have trained, and I have trained hard, but my motivation for getting out the door everyday is different than it has ever been before.

I want to talk to people about running, not just because I am a nerd, but because I want to tell them how great God is. I want to tell them that it was through Him and Him alone that I have gone from almost giving up running forever to being a member of Team USA in 6 short months.

I wish I could put in to words all that I am feeling and experiencing right now. Blessed. Thankful. Grateful. Amazed. Giddy…I absolutely love the fact that God’s plan for our lives is so much bigger and better than we can ever plan out for ourselves. Being on a USA team is a dream that I have had since I was 5 years old. This is a time that I will forever cherish.

Matthew 16:24 Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross, and follow me.

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