It didn’t turn out that way I thought it would.
Has that ever happened to you?
We trained day after day
running those miles
uphill and down
through the intense July heat.
The race was bound to be an adventure for my youngest and I.
Our first time running together.
Mother and daughter
side by side.
But the heat continued to bother me.
I noticed how hard her breathing labored on our last hard run day.
I noticed and pondered it.
Was it really worth it?
Just suppose someone did get sick?
When I tucked her in bed the night before
I asked, “How would it be for you if we didn’t run?”
“It would be ok,” she quickly answered.
But I wasn’t willing to let it go that quickly.
No, I had my heart set on running that race with her
so all through the night I prayed for wisdom
until I finally surrendered it all to the One Who knows all.
At the crack of dawn we got up
dressed, tied our laces of our running shoes,
and looked at each other.
Together we went outside and felt the hot morning air.
“Going to be a hot one.” We both knew.
There must be some way to redeem this, I thought.
Some way to save a disappointing experience so that it wasn’t all wasted.
How about if we pick up our shirts,
and go to the park for a nice run this 4th of July?
We could take our time,
no pressure
easy
running among the flags.
Her face lit up with excitement and I knew we had found the answer.
“YES!”
So although it all was different than we had expected
it was fun
and we made a memory.
Running together
side by side
mother and daughter.
Hours later we still agreed that it had been the right choice
for us.
Life is filled with change;
times when we have to rethink
weigh the factors.
Fools are unable to change.
The wise are willing to adjust to the circumstances
unhooking from their wants
and making sometimes an even better decision.
No, I didn’t run the 4th of July race this year
but I did have the run that will shine in my memory in the years to come.
And isn’t that what life is all about anyway.
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