by perseverance...Day 25

"By perseverance, the snail reached the ark."  -Spugeon

“Then Joshua called the twelve men whom he had appointed from the children of Israel, one man from every tribe; and Joshua said to them: “Cross over before the ark of the Lord your God into the midst of the Jordan, and each one of you take up a stone on his shoulder, according to the number of the tribes of the children of Israel, that this may be a sign among you when your children ask in time to come, saying, ‘What do these stones mean to you? Then you shall answer them that the waters of the Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of the Lord; when it crossed over the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off. And these stones shall be for a memorial to the children of Israel forever.” Joshua 4:4-7

I have a “stone” in written form from  last year and it is one I have gone back to read several times when I have faced things that required me to trust and persevere. And I read it this weekend when I was feeling strained and broken.

I am thankful that God has allowed me experiences with him that strengthen me and encourage me when things seem very hard, or even impossible.  I am glad he has given me stories to share with others when burdens seem too hard and endurance is feeling low.

Here is my marathon story. I wrote it last Spring

Lessons on the road to Boston

Well...things haven't gone quite how I planned! After both my son Jeff and I qualified for the Boston Marathon we filled out the race registration applications and sent the certified proof of our qualifying times to the Boston Athletic Association. We received our acceptance letters in late October! With high hopes, I created a rather ambitious training plan that would give a Jeff chance of running his personal best time and me a chance of finishing well. 

Like I said…things haven’t gone quite how I planned.  The race is on April 19…in just 48 days and I am currently not able to run a step!

Here is a "numbers" explanation of the journey thus far....but what is written afterward is what really matters...

Nov. 17:    I found out I had a tear in the medial meniscus in my left knee
Nov. 25:    I had surgery to repair torn meniscus
Nov. 26:    With determination and encouragement from my family, friends, doctor, and physical therapist I set out to rehab and still be ready to race in the Boston marathon. 

Rehab on the knee I had surgery on was very hard and it was slow going.  Just when I worked my way up to being able to run 7 miles at a good pace, my other knee became increasingly painful.

I had surgery on that knee 5  days ago to trim off a root tear in the medial meniscus

Since the first surgery on Nov. 25 I have experienced

101 days of rehab
598 capsules of Advil
761 bags of ice for my knees
6,060 minutes of icing
2530 minutes of lap swimming
60 elliptical workouts translating to 480 miles on the elliptical
27 physical therapy appointment
5 set backs 
2 mri's
2 cortisone injections
countless prayers by caring friends
hundreds of prayers by me, maybe thousands
1 quart of tears (guessing on that one :))
10, 940 repetitions of each of my pt exercises
1, 120 minutes trying to stretch out angry hamstrings
10 revisions in my training plan

70 cycles of optimism to pessimism to thinking this is just impossible, back to determination to persevere....and therefore optimism

And finally…

101 daily devotionals reminding me to fix my eyes on Jesus... resulting in the most intimate quiet times I have ever had

But what really counts can’t be quantified at all…it is what God is teaching me…

And this is what I am learning.... (The following comes from the devotional book I use entitled “Jesus Calling” by Sarah Young).  It is written from the perspective of Jesus speaking to the reader and is backed up by scripture references… I read this one 3 weeks ago when I was feeling highly discouraged. Here’s what Jesus has been  trying to communicate with me in some form or another every day for weeks on end.

"Leanne, Come to me for rest and refreshment. The journey has been too much for you and you are bone weary. Do not be ashamed of your exhaustion. Instead see it an opportunity for me to take charge of your life.

Remember that I can fit everything into a pattern for good, including the things that you wish were different. Start with where you are at this point in time and space, accepting that this is where I intend you to be. You will get through today one step, one moment at a time. Your main responsibility is to remain attentive to Me, letting me guide you in the many choices along your pathway.

This sounds like an easy assignment, but it’s not. Your desire to live in My Presence goes against the grain of the world, the flesh, and the devil. Much of your weariness results from your constant battle against these opponents. However, you are on the path of My choosing, so do not give up! Hope in Me, for you will again praise me for the help of My Presence. Love, Jesus”

Jesus has covered this journey toward Boston with valuable lessons, with many gentle reassurances of his fierce love for me, and mostly with reminders to not seek to control and be anxious, but to find calm and peace in His Presence.

And I know running the Boston Marathon is not the biggest thing in the world...therefore, I have been blown away by how God has taken this moment in time, no matter how trivial the earthly event , to show me how he cares and wants to reveal Himself and His love to me right where I am at this moment. That is the most awesome thing of all. And it makes me want to share with others how deeply loving, meaningful and intimate walking with Jesus can be on a daily basis.

And the other day, after squeezing in another bike and swimming workout; feeling chlorinated and weary, I got in the car, turned on the radio and God gave me this song of encouragement. I hope it encourages you too!

Okay....here is the song:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WTNBWv33-QI