I'd like to share a wonderful story on how the Lord works in amazing ways. I believe that He gave me the gift of running both to honor Him and to keep me hanging on through my worst times in my life. I was abused miserably growing up. The things done to me are near unimaginable to a lot of people. I cried myself to sleep almost every night, and there were many times growing up where I truly wanted to die. My situation was so bad that I lived in uncertainty everyday. I didn't have many friends in high school because the abuse left me with no self-esteem and unable to trust anyone in general. At times, the only thing that kept me hanging on was hope that I would get a PR in the next-weekend's 5k or that I can reset my high school mile record. Running was my outlet. When I would run everyday after school, I would connect with the Lord, knowing that some day I would be set free from my misery, pain, anxiety, lonliness, and depression. Junior year in high school, I started dating a guy, and he respected me for my dedication to running, understood my abuse situation, loved me for me, and was there for me when I was at my absolute worst--he listened, comforted me, and didn't judge me when I was having my breakdowns. Senior year the abuse got the worst, but that was also my best year in terms of running, and my relationship with that guy strenghtened a lot. I had two things, God's blessings for me, along with my faith in Him, holding me on to life. Through the sleepless nights when I cried myself to sleep, I kept my eyes on the day I would leave for college. That day seemed so far off, but that day did in fact come. I am now a sophomore in college, and although I still have, and always will, have scars, I am a lot happier right now. During my rough times, I'll admit, I questioned why I was being tortured so horribly. I would never wish what happened to me on anybody, but I am finally looking at the positve things that came out of my troubles. I am a psychology major and I want to someday be a therapist and help others, as I can easily relate emotionally to others who are troubled emotionally. Because of my troubles, I was able to see a side of my boyfriend that I wouldn't have seen if I would've had a rosy childhood (by the way, we're getting married). My troubles allowed me to go at running full-force in high school and set some records and make some state appearances. My troubles allowed me to love running so much that I decided to take it to the next level--I now run for a college team, and I ran at Nationals in cross-country. I believe that running is a gift that God gave me, and He intended for me to use it to help me through my worst of all times. I am so thankful for the gift that He gave me, and now I run for Him. Everytime I go out for a run, I worship Him. It's when I'm out running that I connect with Him the most. Yes, my past was horrible, but the Lord took those horrible times and used them to bless me, by giving me a deep relationship with a wonderful man, a satisfying future career, my gift of running, and ever-lasting faith and love for Him.
