the big day.

today was the big day. 20. the longest run pre-marathon.

i joined team world vision at the lakefront group run for a bit of extra support. i got more than a bit.

at mile 16ish, we caught up with some teammates and found them praying out loud as they ran. they were asking for strength to finish the run, but also for the children in zambia we are running for who completely lack the water and sustenance that we were craving by that point.

we separated then, but we kept praying. i found myself speechless mid-prayer, overwhelmed by this incredible experience. running a marathon is life-changing in itself. but i was suddenly humbled to be doing it with a group of people who are actively loving God and loving others, and showing me what it means to care for the poor with our resources and time and thoughts and gifts and even our physical bodies.

in this case, it means people in zambia drinking clean water for the first time.

it's easy to question whether or not we can actually do anything of value. whether or not we can change the world. and that's why today was exciting. because i caught a glimpse of what can happen when we stop questioning and start believing. and not just believing, but doing.

i know i, for one, want to be in the midst.

lean in.

today, after working at world vision for 3 years, i attended new employee orientation. i guess the hr representative kind of knows what she's up against when she walks into a room because she opened with this about the sessions:

"you can choose to endure, or you can choose to lean in."

and i started to think about how often i have that choice.

tonight i ran a great 6 miles. my best. because i chose to lean in.

what could happen, what could i learn, how could other people be affected, if that's the decision i made more often than not? even in new employee orientation.

1 billion people.

So here's the deal: I can say I am a runner because of Team World Vision. I care a lot about what we do as an organization, enough that I would run a marathon, twice. Running affects me in all kinds of significant ways. But it also affects families in Africa, and that's really why I do it.

I got to travel to Ethiopia with World Vision a couple of summers ago. All of the footage in this video is from that trip. These are real people and real problems. But there are also real solutions. Will you help?



www.firstgiving.com/schmunk

Becoming.

My summer has been marked by significant changes. But they've been of an indirect sort. I've felt like things and people have been whirling around me while I am standing still. And as a result, I've found myself confused about where I fit, what I'm doing, who I am, who I want to be.

This weekend I had an epiphany: I have the freedom to choose. I can choose to be kind and generous, to live creatively and discuss fascinating things, to pursue truth, to reflect glory. And I can begin to become who I want to be today; I can make something happen.

Beth and I were talking on our run the other night. She said, "Every day, I have to decide to run." Guilt from yesterday's skipped workout or pride about tomorrow's impressive mileage don't matter so much. It's about making the right decision today.

So today, I choose change. What about you?

"Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord's glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit." 2 Cor 3.17

We run because...

The Conversion

Tonight, it happened: I became a runner.

I heard once that if you asked a group of people if they were runners, the majority would say no. If you then asked the same group if they ran, the majority would say yes.

For the last two years, I've had an on-again-off-again relationship with running. But even in the height of my training stints, I would go out of my way to tell people, "But I'm definitely not a runner."

Tonight that all changed. Somewhere between the lakefront sunset and Kylie Minogue's Dancefloor, it hit me, and I said it out loud so I couldn't deny it later: "I'm loving this run."

I really can't tell you what changed, but I do know that I've never felt that strong for the whole 9 miles. And I liked it.

Some of my friends believe that we create reality with our words. So I'll say it again.

I am a runner.

(almost)

I am the girl who, in seventh grade, feigned sickness to avoid running the mile in gym. Chalk it up to all the classic reasons: self-consciousness, fear of failure, embarrassment.

So this year, I'm running a marathon. Because now, at (almost) 25, I'm (almost) over the fact that it's going to be hard and that I'm slow and that I get sweaty and that there are lots of runners that are better than me.

And it's kind of a thrill, this not caring about what other people think thing. You should try it.