marathon musings

Adoption is a lot like running a marathon. You complete questionairre after questionairre. You fund raise and fund raise. You pray and you pray. That's the training. 

And then you get a call that you've been chosen and have fewer than 72 hours to pack for multiple weeks worth of a stay out of state to pick up this baby that God has given to you. You hit the road for the agency several hours early in case you pass the turn (which you do) and your life changes in an instant when you lay eyes on this precious boy. That's getting to the starting line (especially if it's one of those bigguns with corrals and scattered starting times). 

And then you find out your state paperwork that has to be cleared for you to return home has been submitted earlier than you imagined and you think you'll be home in a couple of days. And your hopes escalate really quickly because you think of all the people you can introduce him to before you return to work. Pretty soon you look down at your watch and find you've run the 5K portion in 22:00. Oh. Crap. {Been there!} 

And then the phone doesn't ring. And the days pass. Your legs grow lethargic. You realize you've gone through 3/4 of your water pack and have one peanut butter pouch remaining before you hit the half marathon mark. So you cry. And you cry some more. You cry out to God to ease this pain and give you some rest. 

You trudge along and walk some because your legs literally cannot face the hills any longer. You realize your friends who have signed up for text updates won't be receiving them as frequently so you get anxious about that. And then you pray for God to move a mountain for you to go home and ease this mounting anxiety. This is miles 14-25, during which you think you will never sign up for another one {spoiler: you will sign up. Probably within weeks of finishing this one}.

And then you realize that you're only 1.3 miles (2K) from the finish line. So you wipe your eyes, blow a mean snot rocket over your shoulder, and you forge ahead. You realize that the time may not be the PR you had hoped for, but you sill accomplished something great. I see the finish line ahead. I'm trusting God to carry me there. 

"Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which Hod has called me heavenward in Christ Jeaus." - Philippians 3:13-14