Five Minute Friday --- HOPE

Every once in a while I join with an online community of bloggers to write five minutes on a one word prompt - It's called Five Minute Friday.

The prompt for yesterday was HOPE.

Ready, GO!

There are a million directions to go on this word. But I'm going to go with the one that is floating to the top of my list first.

I HOPE I cross the finish line tomorrow.

Tomorrow is my fifth triathlon but its been three years since my last one. I am smaller in size (by more than 60lbs) and more comfortable in my skin. I am still significantly overweight, but that won't matter tomorrow.

Tomorrow I HOPE to swim, bike and run with 557 other women celebrating fitness, life, and each other.

Tomorrow I HOPE my five month post op knee can hold up while I have to walk the whole 5k at the end.

Tomorrow I HOPE I can keep my sense of humor while I am passed by lots of women faster than me.

Tomorrow I HOPE the sports bra (especially!), tank top, cycling shorts, and running shoes are the best for doing the job I need them to do.

Tomorrow I WILL enjoy the strength I have, the endurance I've gained, and the purpose for which I am doing this race - to finish it. I don't need HOPE for that. Because I already KNOW it.

Five minutes are up - STOP.

If you want to follow my progress on my race tomorrow here is the link Valley Girl Triathlon Stats.
I am number 158. Thanks for all your encouragement and support.

Journey from Panic to Peace

I haven't written with Five Minute Friday for several weeks, but today, this word has me up at 4am.

The word prompt is WHISPER - and other than the nudge to get me out of bed at this hour to write, I heard something so clear yesterday, I must share...

My heart and mind were racing, flashbacks of past years challenges, trials, and traumas resurfacing in a matter of hours.

"Are we really going to do this?! Again?!"

As I launched my question to the vast expanse of sky, I felt angry and disillusioned. The kids have only been in school for a few days, I've been at my new job for a few weeks, as a family we've been in yet another transition for a few months, the heartbreak and healing of the past few years and now... this.

I took the scenic route in my mind wandering through the past - most recent - events and felt the peace flood me. He was reminding me of the vast provision that has covered us all this time. The healing that has taken place. How different I am. How different we are as a family. How BIG He is.

Then I heard it, the WHISPER,

"Yes, WE are. YOU are different. I AM the same."

Finish

When I finish something it's like a miracle come true. An epic event that is so rare there is never a camera around to capture the moment!

I rarely finish anything... That's what it FEELS like.

If I really look around and consider all I've been called to do in my life thus far, I realize that the assignments God's given me RARELY include a finish line. They are more about someone else's finish line.

The time when I come alongside a stranger in a parking lot and pray with her, when I carry a burden for someone's marathon-like journey, or simply get the dishes done at bedtime only to have my treasures surface and get them dirty again.

Unfinished Tasks

Projects I've finished

If I stacked up my value next to the projects I actually finished I'd be found quite short next to the Empire State Building of "Unfinished Tasks".

But my value is not dependent on the tasks I complete or even what I start. It is in the eyes of the One who has set the course for my journey.