Last Friday evening, I ran my third 5K. It didn’t start until 9:30 that night so I was curious to see how my body would respond to running so late after working all day then spending several hours at home. Normally, I do my running on the treadmill as soon as I get home from work. If I run on Saturdays, I usually run as soon as I get up in the morning. Knowing my routine, I was pretty sure this race was going to present a challenge for me and I was not wrong.
I started the race at a good pace and was feeling really
good about the way things were going.
More people had signed up for the race than I had anticipated but I knew
I was not competing against them because I had my own goals already established. As usual, I didn’t want to finish last and I
wanted to be able to run the entire race without walking. The biggest goal for me, though, was to
finish the race in less than 40:00 minutes, which meant I would need to cut off
nearly 1:20 from my previous 5K in June.
The course was three laps and after running the first lap, I
was feeling really good about things. I
glanced at the timer at the start/finish line and could tell that my time was
under 13:00 for the first lap. The
second lap was becoming more of a struggle and I could feel my legs starting to
get tired about halfway through the lap.
I muttered a prayer asking God to keep me going as long as he possibly
could. I really didn’t want to have to
walk but my legs were beginning to feel
a little rubbery. The clock was just
under 26:00 as I started my third lap.
My struggle intensified and I knew that it would take a
miracle to complete the race without walking.
And that is exactly what happened.
About 1/3 of the way through the final lap, my legs sent a message to my
brain that they were done.
Finished. Not able to run another
step. I could feel my legs going from a
trot to a walk and there was nothing I could do about it. But God could. I was trying to prepare myself to mentally
finish the rest of the race despite taking a few seconds to walk when I felt
something wash over the lower part of my body.
For three steps, it was as if I were walking on air. I literally did not feel the ground for three
steps. I wasn’t numb because I could
feel a presence touching my legs and then I started to run a little
faster. I was renewed and was able to finish the race
strongly with a time of 39:23. If I had
slowed down and walked like my body had wanted to, I would not have reached my
goal of finishing in under 40:00.
Now, by calling this a miracle I am in no way comparing it
to Jesus turning the water into wine or to feeding the masses with just a few
fish and a few loaves of bread. I am certainly
not comparing it to healing the blind, raising people from the dead, casting
out demons, or conquering death and washing away our sins. But in my opinion, it definitely qualified as
a small miracle. Matthew 21:22 tells us,
"And whatever you ask in prayer, you will receive, if you have
faith." I prayed and I
received. Acts 1:8 says, "But you
will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, and you will be my
witness...to the end of the world".
I can attest to feeling the power so now I am fulfilling my obligation
to witness.
Like I said earlier, I had felt the presence of the Holy
Spirit many times, but actually feeling the touch of the Spirit is
indescribable. I know it was just a
little 5K in Ashland, KY on a Friday night but God saw fit to let me know that
he was with me that night and that he has been with me since I started this
journey 10 months ago. In October, I was
facing the most daunting challenge I had ever been faced with. It was literally a matter of life and
death. I chose to fight for life and God
has been with me every step of the way and for that I am eternally thankful. I could try to find the proper words to
express my gratitude but Psalm 28:7 sums it up best: "The Lord is my strength
and my shield; in him my heart trusts, and I am helped; my heart exults, and
with my song I give thanks to him."
Until next time, keep the faith good people. I know I certainly will.
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