For All The Fancy's Out There

I usually feel very guilty when I haven't posted to my blog in quite some time. Well what can I say? Life gets busy for me and although I only work part-time my day-to-day life becomes full of mundane tasks that somehow become a necessity. You might be wondering how I can use the word mundane when referring to any aspect of my life. I look at it this way. God sees every sin the same. There is no greater or lesser sin to commit. Although we may see it differently God sees it all the same; sin is sin and the offense doesn't matter. Occasionally that's how I observe my life. Drama is drama. Tasks are tasks. There may seem to be different levels to it, but really it's all just the same. Still not convinced? Let's look at it another way. My life's "chaos" may not be the same as someone else's "chaos" but the major difference is how each person handles it. I know there are quite a few women out there who are guilty of these thoughts:

She thinks she's busy? Well I have way more to do than she does.

Reality check. Maybe you're to-do list is longer but we all handle things in very different ways. That's the gift of God's love and acceptance.

 

Today you are you! That is truer than true! There is no one alive who is you-er than you!- Dr. Seuss

 

 I've been guilty of it too so you're not alone. The fact is that not everyone handles situations the same.

 

Many years ago, when our family size was only 6, I was struggling a bit with the so-called life balance. Growing up in a small family I was used to having Christmas in the comfort of my own home. I was able to stay in my pajamas all day and play with my new gifts while A Christmas Story softly echoed in the background. Yep it was as picturesque as the last scene in that movie displays. Mom and dad sitting together in the same chair watching the snow fall outside after a hectic Christmas day. I always loved that last blissful scene (recently I found out that snow was really mashed potato flakes- boo). So naturally I wanted the same for my children. However, I struggled with this because now I was part of a bigger family. One that expected us to be at a certain place at a certain time Christmas morning. I wondered how I could talk 4 children into abandoning all their new gifts and how I could possibly get everyone dressed and ready to go before noon? This is what I was told, "Jane has four children and she's been bringing them to grandma's early Christmas morning every year." I felt bad about this and wondered if I was just being really selfish. Then I realized that I was not Jane. I truly admire the way she manages to balance everything in her life, but I was me not her. Never EVER compare yourself to anyone else and never EVER compare someone else to anyone else. Got it?

 

So how does this all relate to running?

 

Some may already know the slogan: Whether it's a 14 minute mile or a 7 minute mile- IT'S STILL A MILE!

 

My sister Sheri running her first Half Marathon EVER!

 

It doesn't matter how fast you go. What matters is that you started and you didn't give up. When my sister and I went to Nashville to run the Women's Running Series I was not nervous at all. My sister on the other hand was a gigantic ball of nerves. She couldn't sleep and swore the race was going to kill her. Her confession at mile 10 was hilarious. She threw her hands in the air and yelled, "OK I lied! The farthest I've ever run is 8.6 miles!" I believe she told me she ran 9 miles so she rounded up a bit- no biggy. She hadn't trained properly but she pushed through a migraine, lost vision in her right eye at mile 1.5 (doctor said that is common with migraines and running), knee pain at mile 10, and a bit of dehydration.

 

So here was "Fancy" breathing heavy, thirsty, and in pain but still going. My goal was to get her to that finish line but she got herself there. It didn't matter how fast she got there even if that evil timing system still lingered in her mind. She lost the big picture. Maybe that had something to do with me. I never told her I wanted to run a fast half but maybe somehow she sensed it. I was hoping to PR in Nashville because I thought I would have really earned those shiny cowgirl boots. 

 

 

Biggest and coolest medal I've earned. See hand comparison? Hehe.

 

The reasons for us to run it together mattered more to me then my finish time and I knew once she lost sight in her eye I wasn't running without her. Plus if I had run without her I would have missed her lack of miles confession and her yelling loudly, not realizing her ear buds were still in, how the 2:30 pacer was not going to beat her. I would have missed the sigh she gave me when I asked if I could run ahead, or the chance to run across the finish line with her. I also would have missed the completion high five that always makes you smile.

 

 I wasn't doing this for me I was doing this for her and with her. I knew she could do it. I wasn't immediately sure she'd want to sign up for another one but she text me Thursday asking if she'd be crazy to run a 10K this weekend. She's hooked. Even after Fancy had a toe nail removed (runners bliss) she's still looking forward to our next run together. How cool is that?

 

She helped me farther realize that not everyone runs in the same way but we all run the same race. Just as in life. We don't all live in the same way but we are all living the life God created. He looks at us all the same even though we all see differences.

 

So for all you Fancy's out there- go run your own race and be proud of yourself for having the strength and courage to stand at that starting line. A sin is a sin and a mile is a mile. Fight both of them with everything you have!