So, I got a text message from my PPB telling me that our post-race story is on K-LOVE today! Sa-weet! :) :) I'm so pumped! What God did through this whole marathon experience needs to be shared with others. Hopefully more people will be inspired to use their gifts for the Lord!
If you are reading this after visiting the K-LOVE page, I have a message for you. You can do
this, too!! Maybe not run a marathon, but you can use whatever God has blessed you to enjoy and turn it into a way to further the Kingdom. That's why He gives us those desires! To return them to Him for His glory! :)Back in December when I was getting ready to train for the Boston Marathon, I realized that it needed to have eternal impact if it was truly going to be worth it. It's a TON of work and time, and if it isn't for more than just a medal, it's not worth it. So, through prayer and connections, the Lord led me to Military Ministry and showed me that we could generate hope and healing for the troops through the marathon training. Sweet!! Who knew that the simple act of running would generate the most amazing team dynamic among a group of strangers while also raising more than $3,500 to meet the spiritual needs of the military! :) Hallelujah!! :)
It's a loooooooooooong story, so if this is your first time on this page, then I would totally encourage you to read maybe the first entry back in January or a couple of the first ones. Then read the last one from the marathon on April 19th. There's a TON in between, but hopefully this will show you what God can do when we give our gifts back to Him. Miracles!! :)
That's why we are given gifts to begin with! One of the guys in my office has a sign hanging on his door that says, "Life is God's gift to us. What we do with it is our gift back to God." It's a quote that his dad lived by, and I totally love it. We only have a few years here on this earth. If we spend all of our time using our gifts only to please ourselves, what will it matter? But, if we use the passions and abilities that we've been given as we are SUPPOSED to use them, we will make a lasting impact on this earth. My aunt recently wrote to me in a card this simple phrase: "What is done for Christ will last."I've said it before, my Boston Marathon medal will eventually get lost. The jacket won't fit. The shirt will get coffee-stained. :) (Those who know me KNOW that's true.) But what is done for Christ will last. All the miles, all the pain, all the time...It was all worth it because of what lies on the other side. Some soldier is going to be sitting in Afghanistan, homesick and scared, and he's going to open a Rapid Deployment Kit that was funded by this race team, and he's going to realize his need for the Lord. He's going to turn to Him in prayer, maybe for the first time. That is priceless.
Whatever you are passionate about--for me it's running--whatever you are gifted to do, I want to challenge you to find a way to do it for the Lord. Colossians 3:23-24 instructs us, "Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving."
Go for it! You CAN make a difference! Get creative! And...if you want to run with us for Military Ministry, there's always room on the team. :) I hear that there's a group forming for the Marine Corps Marathon in October. You in? :)
Have a great day in the Lord, all! :)
-Jill
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