I made it through my relay with a few special gifts from God. I was able to walk/run as planned for the first 4 miles. During that period I did start to feel pain from my planter facetious... but I pushed through and made it as far along as I could. The second toe on my right foot went numb a few times but I got the blood flowing again and kept pushing on!
At about 4.5 miles my first gift from God appeared...my amazing boyfriend Francesco was there on the sidelines cheering me on. More importantly he was holding my bag that had my walking shoes in them!!! I HAD TO change my sneakers. The pain in my right heal was so bad that I couldn't even put it down...so the walking sneakers with more support were a God sent at this point! Francesco walked about 1/2 a mile with me then went back to the end of the race as I continued on.
Around mile 5.5 I was feeling the strain in my right leg. The pain in my heel was making me compensate while walking and the pain was shooting down my right calf muscle and Achilles…pain was kicking in. My second gift from God was this older woman who ran by me. She patted me and said, “Keep it up, you can do it!” and then pointed to the back of her t-shirt as she ran by. Her shirt read, “I can do all things through God who strengthens me.” That was a big push for me and I began the ultimate speed walk at this point. I walked as hard as I could through the pain. I was just praising God through my head and shortly thereafter a song came on my iPod and it made me think of our Lord Jesus and the pain he had carrying that cross on Calvary. I felt the size of an ant as my humble heart was beating. The pain I felt in my foot and leg was nothing compared to what Jesus went through for me. I pushed and pushed and just prayed. Jesus was with me and held my hand as I continued on and worked through the pain.
The next gift God sent me to keep me going and not give up was towards the very end. I knew I was getting close to the end but I still had a thought to give up or just take a break. Well, right as I was about to, I spotted the street sign where I was turning on. It was Dwyer Lane. I immediately thought of my chiropractor/friend Kelly Dwyer. She was the FIRST person to give me a donation and this was the LAST leg of my race. Talk about a literal sign from God! Well, I thought of Kelly and how generous she was to support me and I sped up once again and refused to be conquered by pain (besides, if the pain got really bad, she would fix me up!) :-) So I continued to push and I made it past the last curve…
I’ve never been in a race or an event like this before so I didn’t expect to see ALL THESE PEOPLE cheering me on! Sure, everyone had a friend or family member there to see but EVERYONE was cheering for EVERYONE! People were calling out my number and pushing me along and cheering me on! It was a great feeling…my final gift from God was my relay partner Andrea. As soon as she spotted me she came over and arm in arm we ran through the finish line together! To share that moment with such a dear friend was amazing and I was so happy that we were able to cross that line at the same moment and collect our medals!
I would never have done this event if it wasn’t to support the children of Mustard Seed Communities. Those children are MY babies. They are MY children. They are MY life. They have changed my life more than I have theirs. I will be going on my 4th mission trip this November to see my kids. Because of the love and support of everyone who has donated, I will be able to see healthier, happier, educated, nourished children once again. Your support gives these children a chance that they didn’t have before. Thank you for supporting me and the children of Mustard Seed Communities - you really have no idea how grateful I am!
~ Christina
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment