A few years ago I decided to do something about my weight. It had plagued me since I was fresh out of high school. It took me motivating myself to exercise, eat more healthfully, and then actually losing weight, to realize that being overweight was not just an uncontrollable product of my genes. I kept the 40 pounds off that time, until I was pregnant with my 4th child. I realized my relationship with food and being inactive was actually sin I was clinging to. I used food to bring me joy, to comfort me when I was stressed, frustrated, or just plain bored. I was a tired and overwhelmed mom of 4 young children. I chose not to view my body from God's perspective. He created our bodies to be His temple, a sacred place where His Spirit dwells (1 Corinthians 3:16). I did not have the respect for my body that God had. I was definitely not honoring God with my body.
Fast forward to March 2011, 16 days into our family's "Get Ripped" program. I received the transformational message from God, through Diane Comer, our pastor's wife, whom I greatly respect.
A challenge to embrace, Romans 12:1
Therefore, I urge you, (sisters) in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, Holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship.
To live out, 1 Corinthians 6:20
You are NOT YOUR OWN; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body.
Encouraged by Jodi Stilp's words of running wisdom and advice, we, the women of Solid Rock, embarked on a mission to train and finish the Helvetia Half Marathon on June 11, 2011.
I had been working-out intensely for two and half weeks with Brian and the kids. I was eating only the approved food on the "Get Ripped in 90 Days" meal plan. I felt invincible! Of course I could train for a half marathon! That confidence was only half of the story. I could have chosen the safe route and agreed to the 10K portion of the race. Either way, I wasn't going to register until I was pretty sure I wasn't going to be injured by all this running.
Originally inspired by the "Biggest Loser" TV show, I really wanted my whole family (dad, mom, brothers and sisters) to do a family "biggest loser" with me. I think they all have that doubt in their mind that they can't lose the weight either. But I know they can! With God, nothing is impossible! Assuming I was going to get a big "N-O" from each one, I began asking them to join me on this "mission impossible," a half marathon. And one-by-nervous-one, they said "YES!" But they told me I was crazy and they all said, "only the 10K."
Here we go...
We got running shoes, headphones for our ipods, energy gels, new water bottles, recovery juices, and some real running socks! My brother and sis-in-law got a double jogging stroller from craigslist so they could run with their two toddlers. We were ready to train! Separated by 1 to 5 hours distance, from Beaverton to Rainier, OR and up to Mount Vernon, WA. We stayed connected by group messages on Facebook. We ran long runs together on the weekends when we could. We even gathered for a family birthday in Tacoma and ran 10 miles along a golf course. WE were really doing this! I was still tentatively clinging to my commitment to run the 13.1 and the rest of the crew decided, as they registered online, to tackle the whole thing with me! I couldn't believe it, they were signed up before me! And they whined over the phone, "Why did you get me into this?" I loved it!
Brian and I had talked about getting shirts made, since there were 7 of us running together. It would just be cool to identify ourselves as a group! We asked for ideas of a logo and knew we wanted a bible verse as our inspiration. After all, we were doing this to glorify God with our bodies! We chose a turtle for the front of our shirts because Jaron's nickname is Turtle Man. Based on a picture of him smiling at about 2 weeks old, my sister Katy thought he looked like a turtle. He's been collecting turtles ever since. His amazing life has transformed each one of our lives over the course of the last year. He is our little glimpse of heaven, here on earth. Dad helped us find Hebrews 12:1 as our theme verse. Little did we know, this verse would encourage countless runners along the course of the Helvetia Half Marathon!
Let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles,
and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.
I only wish we had added: "And all God's children said, ____!" Because I had at least 30 runners who commented on my verse while running the race. And the others had that big of a response as well. It would have been neat to have that many people saying, "AMEN!" as they passed by us! Maybe on the next shirt...
Race day came. We all showed up, stretched, drank water, prayed, ran, walked, huffed, puffed, prayed some more, ached, groaned... but all 7 of us FINISHED!!! And we had a crowd of supportive family (11 people) to welcome us at the end! Brian and the kids all came in the morning and waited half the day at the Hillsboro Stadium to see us cross that line. A few of us beat our training pace! Some were just thrilled to cross the finish line still alive! We were all amazed and thankful to complete what we started! TOGETHER! Let's do another one!
1 comment:
I'm so blessed by this post Monica. I love that you brought your family into it and that you got on board with what God was calling you all to do. I love that you guys did it TOGETHER. And you've only just begun. All glory to God!!!!
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