Unspeakable Joy

My finish line photo, To GOD be the Glory!

Suva Marathon has been 6 months of training, planning, hoping and praying and yesterday it became a reality.  I can tell you now that it was more incredible than I ever could have hoped or imagined.  My taper week was hard because I was struggling with muscle pains and doubt.  I turned my trust over to the Lord and decided defeat starts with a bad attitude so I chose victory!  God had promised me that I would finish this race and God would deliver.

We flew to Suva on Friday and it was an impossible day, as much as I knew I needed to rest and relax it just wasn't going to happen.  I was excited and terrified and I just wanted to get to the start line!  That evening I watched the sunset on the sea wall while we waited for the marathon briefing.  I gave it all to God, and all for His glory.  I knew that I was prepared and that I just needed to trust God with the rest.

I was flooded with awesome prayers being sent my way and everyone had some words of encouragement.  It was overwhelming and I felt so very loved by my teammates, friends, and family. This was a big day.  Not just because I would run my first marathon, but because this was the first time we as LIFE Runners had organized and stood together in unity at such a large function.  We rented a huge bus and 30 plus LIFE Runners took time off and traveled to Suva to run or cheer.  For me, LIFE Runners in Fiji was a vision God placed on my heart and that marathon was the moment where it all became so real!  One of my faithful prayer partners had called me to tell me that God had sent me the scripture;

Joshua 1:9
Have I not commanded you?  Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.

It was no small coincidence that my race number ended up being 109!  God loves the details!

I woke up at 2am to eat and prepare as I had been given great race day advice by my teammate and mentor Pat.  I looked at my phone and had an amazing message on it.  The details are not something that I can share on a platform such as a blog, but one of our LIFE Runners would not be making it to the race because God had put her in the path of a baby that was in danger of being aborted.  My heart about pounded out of my chest.  This was why God brought LIFE Runners to Fiji, to help protect women, men and the unborn from the threat of abortion.  These LIFE Runners are walking the walk by stepping in and offering help and hope to those in crisis pregnancies!  I knew without a doubt that God was going to do amazing things with LIFE Runners in Fiji and that this race was just the beginning of us getting fired up for LIFE!

I can't tell you much about the time between waking and the gun, but I can tell you that the race was incredible.  From the moment we took off I felt relaxed, not an ounce of fear or doubt remained.  I wasn't concerned about being last, and in fact I was last for a little less than half of the race, but it didn't matter!  Something amazing happened as I jogged along the 10K track, I felt myself being filled with overwhelming joy.  I'm not talking about being happy, I'm talking about spirit filled joy.  It was flowing through me, it was overwhelming me, it was over taking me.  As we began turning the loop and runners heading back around I started cheering each runner on.  I had a smile on my face for literally the entire run!  I don't smile very often, and for the first time in my life I could not stop smiling!  At first the other runners seemed kind of surprised by this girl coming in last with a giant smile on her face cheering them on, but by the second lap they returned my smile with a smile of their own.  I would crack jokes with the aid stations and give praise to the marshallers, it was crazy, I was just plain happy!  Then I started sincerely thanking God for the most fun I have ever had, and what you need to understand is that it rained almost the whole race!  So here i am soaked, with a perma-smile on my face, coming in nearly last, and i am having the best day I have ever had!  I felt more saturated by Gods love in those 5 hours then I have ever felt in my life.  The love of God was literally radiating through me!  It was something I hope I never forget.  Unspeakable joy!

When I noticed my marathon partner struggling I slowed down my pace and ran and prayed with him.  I knew he was hurting, and I knew he had a very long way to go.  I spoke to him words of encouragement that God gave me and I even stayed behind him awhile to pray him forward.  When I did finally leave him it was only after i gave him GU and found out cheering section who had staminade for him.

The race ran in heats, so right when I was halfway done I knew that Ryan was starting his 10K with the other LIFE Runners who were running.  I was so excited to see them all, to cheer them on!  When they passed it was a wonderful moment.  Such a blessing to see my teammates giving it their all for God and the Unborn.

5 hours is a long time to run without stopping, OK I did take a potty break once but it was the fastest potty break ever!  God gave me the strength to run the entire race, and he gave us an amazing cheering arm.  All of our LIFE Runners had positioned themselves at the aid stations so every 2 miles we got to see their smiling faces!  I can tell you that they were a lifeline for us, and I know that they stood out there for 5 hours not only cheering us on, but helping hand out water and cheering all runners on!  I have never been so proud to be on a team as I was that day!  They put their hearts and souls into it and were standing up boldly for LIFE!

I spent the entire run in prayer and praise.  I prayed for family, for friends, for women who were tempted to abort and for those who already had and were struggling with that decision.  When it hurt I just offered my suffering up, but I never stopped smiling or cheering others on even if it was only a thumbs up at times where I had nothing left to give.  I can tell you that those runners, those strangers encouraged me at the end when I needed it most!  They gave back to me with their smiles and encouragement and I am so thankful for every single one of them! Although my body was conditioned, I did finally start to struggle in the last 5K.  Suva Marathon is a road race, and the road has a pretty good angle so my hip flexors were not happy by the end and started to spasm and cramp.  I knew if I could just make it to the next aid station I could have teammates pray with me.  As soon as I got there Fee laid hands on my hips and we said a quick prayer and I felt renewed.  I wanted desperately for Ella Mae to pray with me, I knew that she was only about a mile away so I asked God to carry me again to her and He did.  Ella Mae and Mrs. Hughes laid hands on me and said a quick prayer and then I pushed on to the finish line.  God was providing me everything I needed.

In that last quarter mile a group of marshallers yelled for me, they cheered for me, they pushed me and I ran!  I gave it all I had left and ran towards my teammates who were cheering loudly at the finish line.  They were the most beautiful sight I had ever seen holding our banner high!  I ran past them and was greeted by the race team who took amazing care of me, getting me coconut water and holding me until I was sure I could manage on my own.  I was so happy I sobbed for a minute and then sat down to recover.  I was dazed, amazed, totally happy!  A woman I met through an interview for the race came over to say hi and it was so wonderful to meet her and to finally get to talk to her face to face (I'm leaving names out to respect privacy.)  I hope that these new people I have met through Suva Marathon will become friends in the future, because I will be coming back to Suva Marathon for many years to come!

After I recovered a bit I started asking around about my running mate and found out that he was about 2km out.  Although my legs were shot I knew the battle he was facing and I felt God urge me not to let him go it alone and so when I saw him I began cheering him on and jogging beside him.  I prayed, I encouraged, and we ran together.  He never gave up!  He was a true warrior!  When we neared the finish line I fell back, this was his moment and I cheered him through!  It was so humbling to be able to run as a team and a prayer!  God showed me that when we truly let him have all of us he will infiltrate us with every ounce of his love and compassion that our bodies can handle!

The entire LIFE Runners team that came to cheer and support were amazing!  I could have never made it without them!  They were the true champions, standing out in the rain for 5 hours passing out water and cheering on runners!  They were incredible and they embodied all that is LIFE Runners at the race!  They prayed for us and with us and my heart is overwhelmed by them! They were the witnesses on the sidelines, they were the face of LIFE Runners and I know that they impacted lives with their willingness to make the trip!

This morning at church as I prayed I again was reflecting on the spirit of joy that had filled me and how I hoped that I could keep that spirit, to carry a smile more.  I thanked God for blessing me with it and providing for my needs.  I thanked the Holy Spirit for running with me and it was in that moment that God revealed to me that the Holy Spirit didn't just run with me, he was in me, radiating from me. I was the hands and feet of Jesus that day, He allowed me to be filled with his heart for others so I could feel the depth of it.  I am truly floored, the love God has for us is more than we can comprehend.  The small portion that He gave to me during the race overwhelmed my heart to the point that i truly cared for every single person I saw, and His love for us is infinitely more!  That floors me!  In my life I have found that the pursuit of most things leaves an emptiness when it is complete, that "what now?" feeling.  This race however did not have that affect.  I know what the difference is.  This race was about building my faith and trusting in the Lord, my life changed over these last 6 months, my heart changed, I changed.  The race may be over and it was amazing, but it is only a small part of what God has planned for me.  I'm so excited to see what is next that there is nothing left but thankfulness!

Well I stand by my first thought.  They say the person who starts a marathon is not the same person who finishes a marathon.  I disagree, I say the person who starts marathon training is not the same person who makes it to the start line, because the race is actually the reward for everything that came before!