United Way Kids Fun Run November 2010
The little girl with long hair is my oldest runner. Her legs have lengthened and she has been practicing for the United Way fun run for quite a while. She lined up and raced her little heart out. She was behind about eight children and passed several to finish 3rd. She received her first medal and wore it all day. We beamed with happiness at her strong finish.
The person you do not see pictured is my bulldozer runner, Nathan. He runs hard and fell hard. He sobbed and wailed because he hurt his hands and his pride. However, his fierce determination kicked in and he finished the race holding my hand and sobbing the whole way. I asked him if he wanted to quit and he furiously refused. The whole crowd cheered loudly as we crossed the finish line. He received his finishing ribbon and an important lesson in not stopping even when the race didn't go his way.
AAhhh, how much I have to learn from my little runners. And so often I think that I am teaching them to run! In running and in life, I so often want to give up when the race doesn't go my way. I can completely understand how he felt looking at his race slip through his fingers. I felt so sick when he fell. I knew how much he wanted this....
How God must feel when we fail in our race...how His heart must hurt when we fall. And I wonder if He is yet offering his hand for us to get up, keep running, even with hurt and tears, encouraging us to finish the race.
Postscript: My 5K went well, the first race after the Columbus Marathon. I received 1st in my age group with a time of 22:50. I ran negative splits which was my goal.
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