Ordinary People

This Thanksgiving I decided to try something new and signed up for a Turkey Trot 10K about a half an hour outside of Charlotte. Running has become one of my things since I've started seminary and I was looking forward to running my first 10K and working up a good apetite before the usual massive turkey feast. I've been running "races" for about two years now and have run with some large fields including around 10,000 at the Twin Cities Marathon. Even the smaller 5K's I've run have had close to a thousand with the smallest probably being the Holla Run which I'm pretty sure still had 400 people. Therefore I was surprised to find out there were about 40 people running this 10K. And the thing is, I'm not necessarily "fast." So as I was sizing up the field I realize there was a chance I could be the last runner to cross the line. It was a bit humbling.

The whistle blew and off we went. The field thinned out pretty quickly and I got locked into my 9-10 minute pace. Surprisingly, I found that there was another woman, probably in her mid 40's that was running at the same pace as me. We realized this and paced each other for about the first two miles not really saying anything but sharing the understanding that we were both grateful to have the extra motivation that running with a partner will give. At about the 2 mile marker we started chatting about the race and how we were feeling and thanking each other for the pace partner. Naturally we started talking about running. It turns out that she's training for her first marathon in Kiowo, SC in December. We start sharing training stories and I tell her what I can about my experience and give her what encouragement I can. Then the conversation progresses to what got us into running. It turns out she was doing Team in Training and was running to benefit an 11 year old girl in her congregation who was just diagnosed with leukemia. And she herself had just overcome a battle with lymphoma cancer. We continued talking to about mile 5 where I took up a faster pace and promised her I'd meet her at the finish in a mile. I finished right around an hour which was my goal and met her at the line. I gave her a hug, and thanked her for her company and inspiration.

I have found myself humbled and inspired by people's generosity, love, perseverance, and determination this past week. And these are your everyday people. Ones that you may just pass by on the street. And yet, God is doing extraordinary things through them. I saw this in the woman I ran with who was doing all this training for someone else. I heard this in the story of the single mother who raised her girl keeping her steadfast faith and instilling it in her daughter as well. I heard this in the stories of people overcoming addictions with the help of their faith. I read this in the blogs of my friends that are poignant and real and challenging. And I see it when the prayers of ordinary people are heard and answered in a big way. God is up to something and I'm blessed to be a witness to it.