Little blessings

I've been in a funk for the last couple of weeks and I finally managed to come out of it in the last 24 hours. I've been dealing with some things that have happened and things that have been said to me and just trying to process what God has planned for me during the next year of my life.

After some serious soul searching and some much needed tears and talks with the people who have upset me, I decided to let everything go and BELIEVE that God has a plan for me and that He isn't done with me yet. After all, my word of the year for 2011 is believe and if I give up now, I'm letting Satan win. God never gives us more than we can handle and this is no different. I know this is vague and I prefer to leave it that way. I just simply want to remind myself that it's all about belief and trusting that God's plan is always better.

I need to write this entry to talk about the little blessing that came my way tonight. As everyone knows, I'm training for a half marathon that I'll run on May 1st. I'm still a very slow runner but I absolutely love running and the confidence it has given me. Since starting my training I've run two 5k's and a 10k with a 15k lined up for this month on the 20th as my last big race before the half marathon.

Well, I kept putting off registering for the race because of different financial problems that have come up and had planned on registering with my tax refund, which then went to my car and the stupid fuel pump that needed replaced. Since I put it off, I was at a point tonight that I honestly didn't think I was going to be able to afford to run it and was planning on giving up the race and just doing a regular 9 mile long run that weekend. I mentioned it in passing to Denise yesterday at church who then mentioned it to Jon last night.

Jon and Denise have decided that I've come too far in my training and have been looking forward to this race for too long to let me give it up now. Jon told Denise I have worked too hard to get to this point that money should not be the issue for why I can't run a race that I've been looking forward to for months. They have offered to pay my registration so that I can run the 15k in two weeks!

I kept telling Denise at the gym tonight that I can't ask her and Jon to do that, especially since she's running the half marathon that morning and that race is more expensive than mine. She told me that I wasn't asking, that they were offering because I've worked too hard and have come too far to give up on a race I've been looking forward to for months now. I teared up while we were running on the treadmill because their support has meant the world to me as I've been training for the last several months.

I honestly could not make this without them. They are my biggest cheerleaders and push me when I don't think I can go any further. To pay for a race I've been looking forward to for months is just another reason why they are such a blessing to me. Without such an incredible support system, I probably would have abandoned my training months ago and just tossed this aside as one of my many crazy ideas that I never saw through. With Denise and Jon in my life, this is one goal I'll actually meet. I can't wait to cross that finish line on May 1st and prove to myself that I can do anything I set my mind to. What an incredible feeling that will be.