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Countdown to the Georgia Jewel

Day 2

9/21/2018

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You're My Hope Forever, The Rock Where I Stand

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In 24 hours I'll begin the 35-mile Georgia Jewel. Each day up to race day I've been reflecting on the song that has given me strength through this Jewel of a journey: Confident, by Steffany Gretzinger. Yesterday, I focused on the lyrics - I won't build my life on sinking sand. Today, I'll turn to the next lyrics in the song: 

You're my hope forever, the rock where I stand

Yesterday I talked about the importance of having a firm foundation.  A firm foundation for the races we run, the houses 
we build, the lives we live. If you think about it, those foundations are all about preparation. 

For 5 months now, since the Saturday morning I officially registered for the Georgia Jewel, I've been preparing to run this race. I've run more miles than I've ever run per month. I've attempted some difficult trail runs; five months ago I'd never run on a trail before. And I swear I should be standing on the moon after the number of steps I've climbed. My preparation leaves me feeling confident for my race tomorrow. Without the preparation, I wouldn't have much hope. 

If preparation is part of the building blocks in the foundation, hope stems from it. If we've prepared the foundation of our house just right, we can be hopeful our house won't sink or blow away. When we live our lives preparing the best we can for the next moment, we can be hopeful about tomorrow. Where we are today, who we are, the choices we're making and the character we're building, it's all helping identify where we'll stand tomorrow. 

Here's the thing, though. We can only be SO prepared. Storms come our way in life that exceed our preparation. The heat is more than I bargained for in a trail race - mother nature's winds are stronger than the foundation of my house can withstand  - nothing in the world can prepare me for a cancer diagnosis. The reality is, some things we just can't prepare for, but that doesn't mean the stem of hope has to wilt. 

In preparing for the Georgia Jewel, I've leaned on my faith in God. I've leaned on the reality that I've failed miserably in races before, and God has cultivated beauty and bigger purposes from all those failures. In life, God's taken the darkest days of my life and raised from them opportunities to know and share love that would have been impossible otherwise. God has become the one foundation on which all of my foundations in life rest; my running foundation, my house foundation and my life foundation - they all rest on the  my faith in God. 

I have a vision for how my race will finish tomorrow. It's quite simple, really - I want to cross the finish line before the 12 hour time limit is up. I want to drive back home to Virginia telling myself over and over - I did it. That's my vision. Life doesn't always go my way, though. My faith in God says life doesn't have to go my way - and in truth - my faith says my way is very seldom the best way for life to go. 

I'll line up tomorrow. I'm confident. I'm prepared. I have a strong foundation built under this race. I plan to see my vision through. If for some reason I don't, I'll be disappointed. But you know what the ultimate cure for disappointment is - it's hope. No matter what happens tomorrow, the rock on which I stand, the hope that stems from it, that rock will be as solid as ever. 

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Click above to donate to help Giving Words help Kate.
I am honored to run this race for Giving Words and my friend Kate Fletcher. I got to know Kate when I interviewed her on my TwoTim47 podcast after she ran 100 miles to raise scholarship money for her Louisa County High students. I was taken by her heart and spirit for using running to help others. You can listen to my conversation with Kate here: High School Teacher Kate Fletcher Runs 100 Miles For Student Scholarships.
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In the interview, I had no idea Kate had needs of her own. Her humble spirit won't give things like that away. But Kate lives in a house with some significant structural challenges. So I'm partnering with my friend Eddie Brown and Giving Words to help her. I'm hoping to find 100 people to donate $35 - one dollar for each mile of that Georgia Jewel run. 
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