Know your "PRIORITIES"

I meant to blog last weekend before Amanda had a chance to but I have let work get in the way of my PRIORITIES. (Sounds like I am not the only one!!)

Last Saturday when Amanda and I started running the 10K on the beach in Port A, I said, "About 15 years ago, my sister-in-law and I started out meaning to just run this race to get in a 3 miler and walk the last half, but there were only a handful of runners that had entered the race, so of course we were last anyway, and there was this stupid firetruck behind us with its lights on the whole race and they were having a blast at our expense. We would stop for some water and they would say over their speaker, 'Just drop the cup. We will pick it up!'" So, I had been last before, and last wasn't going to bother me today! Then, we got started and I tried to keep up with the small pack of runners that had entered the run. Amanda ran right beside me. I was sucking air and she wasn't even sweating! So at 1 1/2 they had a water stop and I told her I was going to walk and drink and she should get going, and she did. Somewhere along the way, I started thinking, "I sure don't want to be last!!" I don't know what happened to my "PRIORITIES" there, but they flew right out the window! So, I started walking and running, but making sure I kept a distance between me and those "last place people". Then, about 10 minutes later, I see this angel running back towards me instead of towards the finish line, and I recognized the color of the running shorts. It was Amanda! I asked her, "what are you doing?" And she said, "we came to do this together, and I am sticking with you!" And so she did. She would run up when I walked and then run back for me. So basically, she ran twice the distance!

And, I meant to blog before Amanda did, so that I could say, Amanda, you met your "call to discipleship" that day. And isn't it funny to read your blog saying, you were "listening" to what God was telling you to do!

Amanda had set her PRIORITIES and was following through. Me, I was being stupid and paid the price by being a "back of the pack" snob, and so I was miserable the whole way! Until the very end there when we came across the lady that needed some encouragement. Then, I got back in my groove! We walked her through until she could run in, and then we let her run in across the line in front of us. Guess who got "2nd" in my age group?!? There you go! God bit me on the butt! That is what I get for forgetting my PRIORITIES and being a snob!

When I was 40 and ran the Big Sur Marathon, I was 7th to LAST in my age group, and my dad was 7th place (you know, from FIRST) in his age group. If the run would have been one month later, he would have been 65 and been in first in his age group! And I was proud of myself!

Anybody not "feeling it" in their training can just plan on having a good time back in the "back of the pack" with me! I'm going to stay where I belong from now on! Those people in the back are having a good time! Maybe we could set up some beer stops along the way?? That would be fun!

God is good - all the time!
Robin

"ATTITUDE IS EVERYTHING! BE KINDER THAN NECESSARY, FOR EVERYONE YOU MEET IS FIGHTING SOME KIND OF BATTLE. LIVE SIMPLY, LOVE GENEROUSLY, CARE DEEPLY, SPEAK KINDLY......LIFE ISN'T ABOUT WAITING FOR THE STORM TO PASS, IT'S ABOUT LEARNING TO DANCE IN THE RAIN."