Well, once again, Will participated in the White Rock Marathon in downtown Dallas. In 2000, he ran the full marathon and what an accomplishment it was! This year he ran the half marathon and did a great job and finished in the time he had set for himself as a goal. I was so very proud of him. He sets his mind to many things and does not quit until he reaches his goals. That is one of the most wonderful things about my husband. He does not quit and even if the thought crosses his mind, he quickly get the thought out of his head and ventures on...not just in running, but also with life and how he leads our family. He has always set goals for himself as a father, husband, and family leader and has never quit on any of them. He is true to himself, me, our family, and especially God's Word. I love him lots!!
If you have never been to the White Rock Marathon or any marathon event for that matter, you should go. I am NOT a runner and never have been, but going to such an event can make you want to start running and accomplish such an awesome "task" in your lifetime. I remember when Will ran the full marathon in 2000 the tears that filled my eyes as I watched so many people cross the finish line and listened to the announcer call each name one by one. (I thought it was just because I was pregnant.)... This year my eyes also filled with tears of joy as runner after runner would cross that line with their heads and arms held high in the air. Watching Will train, I can appreciate the effort that it takes for those people to run the race. I know they have all worked months, maybe years for this very day. It also brought tears to my eyes to see all the loved ones there yelling for their friend or family member and waiting anxiously for them to finish. There was one woman who stood across from me at the finish line this weekend that would yell for every person crossing the line. The runners had their names right above their numbers and she would call each person by name. "Way to go Laurie... You did it. Awesome job, Steve. Keep pushing you are at the end, Elizabeth." She made me think of the verse Romans 12: 15, "Rejoice with those who rejoice!" She was rejoincing for every single person who was finishing the race!!! WOW it was powerful... I was standing right by a man who had his three children with him. The kids were the same ages as ours and they were waiting on their mommy. He was so proud of her and was teary just talking about what she had accomplished that day. As I stood there crying, in the misty rain, and 45 degree weather waiting on my loved one, Will... I thought this is exactly how God waits for us. He anticipates us to finish the race successfully and has his angels and our family (i.e. the woman cheering everyone on) anxiously waiting ,too. What a great experience!!
I was blessed this weekend by just being able to spend some time with Will. Thanks to my mom for watching the girls we got some alone time and had a great weekend in Dallas!
(I was not able to get a good picture of the start, but I loved this picture on the big screen that I took after the race had started with the confetti covering the ground.)
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4 comments:
Congratulations to Will on the race........I am also glad that y'all got to have a weekend date. I am sure that EE had fun, too, with the girls.
Love ya, Vanessa
I think that is exactly howit is...God and the host of angels cheering us on to the finish! They all know me by name, and some of them I know by name too! (There are even two who are cheering for me as "Mommy"!) If you are still, can't you almost hear it! I bet the confetti in Heaven is AWESOME!!
Shelley, this is such a sweet post! Not only showing how proud you are of Will, but just the overall feeling of how people can help contribute to one's success...What a nice analogy of how the woman cheering all those people is like God cheering us on and waiting for us to succeed.
Loved the teeth story too!
Every single time I catch up on reading the "Hale Happenings" I am so proud of Shelley and her accomplished writing and goodness of her heart and spirit. She is truly a remarkable woman and a blessing to us all! Yes, I did have fun staying with the girls. I don't know if I kept them or they kept me...but we did well. (Nothing broken, no bloodshed!)Much love, ee
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