Loving those uphill climbs!

Spiritual resource to share: persistence

(updated!)

Thank you everyone for the inspiring ideas you shared in the last couple of blogs! I prayed with and sung each one of them while racing the Birkebeiner last Saturday!

A little background on the day:
The weather conditions were not good. At all. There were rumours that the whole race would be called off. Limited snowbase and warm weather created both dry and icy patches. What resulted was that the race officials decided to cut down the length of the major race from 50k to 23k; the Kortolopet from 23k to 18k and my run, the Prince Haakun run, from 12k to 7 k. One of the elite men's racers, Mike Manley of Milwaukee, had skiied the course the day before and shared that it was dangerous in spots due to the sheer ice. Many of the top competitive skiiers decided not to race - due to the race being shortened and that only the top tier of racers would be timed.

I was going to race with my friend Janet and her friend Mary. We talked about what we should do. We knew our motive was to challenge ourselves, have fun, and just be surrounded by the joy of skiing and being out in the snow and the forests. This was our first time doing the Birkie, but I couldn't see coming here to just do 7k. So I decided to join my friends and do the Kortolopet which was now 18k, instead of the Prince Haakun run, which was now 7k.

Up to that point, I had only gone 11-12k at any one stretch. That morning at breakfast with my son and friends, about an hour before we were to start, I seriously started to doubt the wisdom of this whole idea.

• We were all new at this.
• I never did 18k at one stretch.
• Conditions were far from ideal.
• Everyone else looked Nordic, in top form and looked like they had been doing this for years..

So what turned it around?

• I knew our motive was good.
• I knew I had incredible support. The ideas many of you shared, combined with the fellowship of the women I was with, encouragement from my son, and the knowledge that with God, all things are possible moved me forward.
• We were prepared physically and metaphysically.
• I prayed and it felt right to go ahead. That doesn't mean I wasn't nervous, but I knew I could overcome whatever challenges I would meet.
• I have had some amazing life experiences and every time I have turned to God, these experiences have taught me more and more about God's goodness and love.
• I love opportunities where I get to learn more about God's goodness and love.

And so we began. Because the course wasn't being timed, people were welcome to put transponders which would track that we started and ended ( thus we have a record that we actually did the race), but people could start any time they wanted. So my very experienced son and I and my two friends all started together. I can honestly say that my son and I raced together, even though it was only a nanosecond. He finished in one hour and 45 minutes. We three finished just short of four hours and were the second to the last group to finish. And we finished just as they were taking down the finish line sign.

This didn't phase us at all ! We were ecstastic! When we were 100 yards to the finish line, the three of lined up side by side, held hands and crossed the finish line together! Our names were called out on the loudspeaker as we approached. People cheered! Because it was our first time, we were given medals. We were laughing out loud, people were clapping and congratulating us!

There is nothing like facing a challenge, persisting and overcoming obstacles. God's inspiration, the love of fellowship and pure joy move us forward to seeing new views of ourselves, each other ...and of God's majesty. What could be better!




To share your thoughts on this or to explore this idea further, please feel free to be in contact with me, add your own comments below, email this article to a friend, or add to the healing finds and sites on the web to the right.