Forecast....Rain

Sixteen weeks of training.

Dozens of bottles of water and Gatorade.

Two pairs of running shoes.

Two sets of earphones.

All the running gear I could find.

Over 2 hrs of music on my iPod.

35 lb weight loss.

Literally hundreds of hours of running.


And now just days before the race..........
The Sunday forecast for my first half marathon................COLD AND RAINY!!!!!!!

I have worked tirelessly to prepare for every aspect of this race: the boredom, the pain, the mental struggles, even the hills but not the rain. Never in a million years was I anticipating that this new adventure of mine would be the end to a drought.

Prayer after prayer. Community prayers. Church prayers. Farmers brought to tears on tractors prayers. And it's not till I decide to get up at 4 am and go run 13.1 miles on a Sunday in May, that there is rain in the forecast.

So now what?.....All this preparation and now the unexpected. And then as I was working on the Day 4 devotional of our 40 Days with Jesus (insert shameless website plug here - http://www.wilbargerchurch.com/#/40-day-studies/40-days-with-jesus) I was reminded that God is in control of all this. I don't have to worry about the results and outcomes (this is where I talk about race stuff as a metaphor for life...you make the application).

I can almost hear Him reminding me,"I have set the pace in keeping with your needs and MY plans." I've done my part. I trained hard and I have to trust that God will take care of the rest. He is the ONE who blessed me with the ability to run and train and enjoy life. He is the ONE who has been with me during each struggle and pain. He is the ONE that hears and cares and answers my prayers. He is the ONE that sets my pace in keeping with my needs and HIS purposes!

So here I am. Staring rain in the face and trusting that the the ONE who makes the rain, will guide me through it.

"In his heart a man plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps." Prov. 16:9

God you know the plans of my heart. Today, I trust the You and You alone will determine my steps!