Race

This past Saturday I ran in the Reeds Lake 10K Race in East Grand Rapids. It was an interesting experience because this was only my second race that I had ever run in. So I didn't know exactly what I was getting myself into. Last time I ran a 5K was in Grand Haven and I was around 5 weeks pregnant and at the time I didn't know I was expecting. The whole race I couldn't breath well and I thought I was coming down with asthma. Needless to say I figured out a week later that I was pregnant with Colton. I ran in the race with my girlfriend Julie and her dad Jeff. I was supposed to run in the race with my girlfriend Jill but she came down with mono and the doctors wouldn't let her run. I was really nervous going into it because I had only run around 4 miles and never made it to the 6.3 miles. Jeff, Julie, and I ran the first couple of miles together then I started to feel like I was dying so I had to slow down a bit. My goal was to finish the race in under an hour and my time was 59:30! I ran this race for my son. I just wanted him to know that he can do anything he puts his mind to and that the world is his oyster! He was visiting with his dad that weekend so he couldn't be with me which was really sad but he was with me in spirit. While training I would bring him with me in the roller jogger and so I was thinking about running it with him but it didn't work out that way. Colton I love you so much and want you to know that with God anything is possible!

Abuse

Abuse is running rampant in our society today. You wouldn't think that here in America, the land of the free, it would never be tolerated but sadly it is. There is such a lack of education and awareness about this topic. If you really open your eyes to it you will see it everywhere. It is happening in the school, workplace, home, and church. I can give many examples of girlfriends of mine who have been sexually harassed at work. This is abuse. Abuse is a choice. It's a cycle of power and control that one person wants to exhibit over another either physically, emotionally, mentally, sexually, financially, or spiritually. One in four women will be abused in their lifetime. There is a huge spectrum that abuse can fall into all the way from murder/rape/assault to just verbal abuse. There can be so much shame, guilt, and trauma attached to what happened that sadly it's usually hidden. I know many women who were in abusive marriages. They experienced the most horrific treatment sometimes daily and never felt safe in their own homes. I know women who were married to doctors, judges, military men, tattoo artist and all were disrespected and degraded for 20 to 30 years by the one person they thought they could trust most, their husbands. In a lot of these cases it took the women this long to even figured out what was happening and that they did not deserve to be treated that way. All they wanted was to be good Christian submissive wives and keep their family intact. God has seen all of this and knows what happened. That is all that matters! God will work in all of these situations in his timing and for his purpose alone. Praise the Lord that He is a God of justice but also of grace and mercy.

2 Corinthians 4:8-10

We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body.

FEAR

So I'm really nervous to share this blog with others for various reasons. The biggest reason is I know writting various posts about my life will anger certain people. They do not want me to be open or public about my feelings and experiences which is exactly what a blog is. But there is no fear in love so I am doing this so that God may be glorified through my testimony.

Soon, I will make this public so that anyone can read what I am writting and I am praying God's protection and strenght when I do it. The truth will be known and God will take care of the rest. What happends in the darkness will be exposed to the light. God is faithful and just to those who serve him with all their hearts.