I awoke at 5:00 a.m. sharp.
I was ready to roll around 6:30 a.m.
The Warrior Daddy and I stepped outside the hotel, and meandered our way a couple blocks south to the crowd amassing.
Squeezing tightly his hand, I stepped into the mob and we snaked our way to the back of the crowd. (When your number reads 16037, it means you start in the 16th wave. Did you notice the amazing Warrior Daddy's number? Yes, he is that fast!)
The crowd overwhelmed, and I had to stop a few times and take a deep breath. Reaching our destination, only two waves prior to the last, the Warrior Daddy reached his phone high and snapped the memory.
Twenty thousand anxious runners, corralled into one long street.
I pointed mine to the western sky.
My mind wandered to Psalm 103. I remember I am but dust and at His gentle breath could be gone forever.
But on this morning, with the moon's beams winking at me, His mercy finds me. I am one little shining grain in a sandhill.
The Warrior Daddy grabs my attention back. Asks me if I am really taking a picture of the moon? He smiles big, wraps His arms around me.
Beth finally finds us, and my tummy is full of restless butterflies. By this time it is too late for the Warrior Daddy to get himself back up to his own wave. I really love that man! Forfeiting his place for the sake of his overexcited wife. He held my hand right through to the start, kissed me, and ran away.
I'd like to tell you the race was easy and my heart was full of joy for the duration, but....
...large crowds meant standing in line for about 15 minutes of valuable clock-ticking time just to releave my aching bladder.
...around mile 12 an old injury roared through my right leg, and decided to stay.
...I forgot my headphones, but that really didn't matter anyway. At mile 14 my phone died.
So, for 12 miles it was just me and God.
And He grace kissed my tired body around mile 16 with a little bicycler who followed me until I teased, "Are you following me?" He giggled loud, told me I was too slow, and then rushed by me with a large grin.
Passing the 20 mile mark, I met Danna, who off and on passed me and let me pass her. Opportunity to encourage and be encouraged for the remainder of the course.
At about mile 22, I hit my wall. My cardiovascular system and my mind were soaring, but my knees and IT bands screamed my age and forced a slow down. And just when I was questioning whether my body could actually finish the rest of the long miles, He distracts as I turn onto a beautifully tree-lined street, canopied in yellow, orange, and red glory.
And I my heart longed to take a picture, but my camera too, convenienced on my phone, was dead.
Around mile 24, with a measly 2.2 miles left, my mind was captured by three beautiful brown-eyed girls with dark curly hair, and that one tall pink man-child just waiting and waiting for their Momma to turn the corner and finally run past them to the finish.
And I'm sure I actually heard Steven Curtis Chapman seranading me with his remake of I'm Gonna Be (500 miles). Two miles was so much less than 500, and yes, I would, no matter whether I ran, walked, or crawled, make it to that finish line.
It was a surreal moment as I ran under that arched banner. My eyes swelled with tears as the let down set in.
I have crossed many a finish line, but in this moment I felt His goodness seeping through every fatigued inch of me. He is so good, and He grace kissed me with a finish, fulfilling a dream 18 years in the making.
I shimmered like a found diamond in the middle of a sandpile.
Thank you for your prayers! Thank you for participating in this life-changing prayer drive. What an honor it has been to pray for you, and be prayed for by you.
My deep prayer is that you know you are not alone. Adoption is hard. Adoption is a journey. But, adoption is His calling, and it really is special and wonderful.
No matter what you walk through with your precious one, you are always loved and carried in our Savior's arms.
You are not alone. :)
"For the LORD is good;
His mercy is everlasting,
And His truth endures to all generations."
Psalm 100:5
