Many years ago I prayed and committed to the LORD that He could use me in any way He wanted. I made a similar vow to Him that "I will go where You send me. I will do what You ask me." I prayed this prayer just prior to my first mission trip to Minsk, Belarus. During one of the services, the leader gave an altar call and many responded. She was leading worship and wanted to go down and pray for those who responded, so she said, "Rebecca, come up here and sing." I immediately got out of my seat, took the microphone, faced the congregation and panicked, "I can't sing!" I heard the LORD say to me, "You said I could use you any way I wanted." So, I started to sing. The poor keyboard player had a rough time trying to figure out which key to play as I switched keys constantly. My performance was awful; however, people were blessed and God was glorified, and that's all that mattered.
Then the LORD called me to move to Minneapolis to help start a church. I prayed this specific prayer, "LORD, you can use me in any way You want. Just please don't make me work with the kids." Yep! I spent the next eight years leading the children's ministry.
Now, in this season, the LORD called me to run a marathon so He can reveal to me what I'm made of. I don't even want to think about what He has in store for me once this odyssey is finished!
Why does God repeatedly ask me to do things that require me to work out of my weakness? When will I get to do something that I feel comfortable and confident doing? I recently found this quote, and it so beautifully answers these questions:
When I'm willing to work out of my weakness, there are more chances for God to show up and for the unexpected to happen.--Jason Gray
So, here I am, five weeks after I ran my first mile, about to run my first 5K, and I'm ready for it. Having a race on my calendar really brought focus to my running days. Each time I ran I went farther and faster than I planned. I'm looking forward to experiencing what it's like to be in a race.
The thought of running a marathon is daunting. I can't think about it yet. No, I'm not being a Scarlett O'Hara ("I don't want to think about that now. I'll think about it tomorrow.") I just don't want to overwhelm myself, so I'm focusing on smaller goals leading up to the fulfillment of the big one.
Many people have big dreams but never realize them because they never take the first step in fulfilling them. I've often heard it said that no one wants to hear about what you didn't do. I think people equally don't want to hear excuses about why you didn't even try. So, that's the reason for this blog. It's keeping me focused on my journey as well as accountable to anyone who happens to be reading this.
I'm not ready to run a full marathon, but I'm ready for the 5K, and the other races I have on my radar through the year leading up to the BIG RACE.
July 8, 2011--5K in Rochester, MN
July 30, 2011--5K in Wabasha, MN
October 22, 2011--10K in Mankato, MN
May 2012--Half Marathon in Rochester, MN
October 2012--Full Marathon in Mankato, MN
NEXT POST--5K Race Recap!!
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