BE-YOU-TIFUL

BE-YOU-TIFUL

Thank God for forgiveness and grace but I made an ass out of myself today at boot camp. GASP! Most of you that know me won’t be surprised by this regular occurrence. I feel comfortable using this phrase since I’m referring to myself and it is in the bible (scripture reference Numbers 22:28 And the LORD opened the mouth of the ass, and she said unto Balaam, What have I done unto thee, that thou hast smitten me these three times?) AND I like to uncover religious spirits-including my own :)



Let me start by saying boot camp activities are timed and recorded. As we progress, our times should ideally improve each session. Okay, I usually come in near last on these drills. Today, I had an opportunity to come in second. I was about 100 yards from the finish line and I saw a co-camper about 25 yards in front of me. It really isn’t a race but I couldn’t help myself. I thought, “I can do this. Last place? Not this time, Jennifer.” So I gave my final kick (that what runner’s call it when you are on the home stretch and you give it all you have or so I hear.) Well, she heard me coming behind her. How could she not? I was a huffin’ and puffin’, my feet pounding like a band of wild horses on her tail. She started to pick up the pace…..and I responded in kind. I was not only giving it all I had, I went into a primal warrior mode. It was like those National Geographic specials where the wild wildebeests that are slow get taken down by the pride of lions and eaten alive. Well, this girl was not getting taken down alive today.



As a good Christian woman I thought you were to be meek and mild. You know-let others go first, take the last seat, be demure, not exerting any sense of strength or power but today something within me snapped. I wanted to overcome. I wanted to conquer. I was not going to be stopped. Win or lose….it was on. I read this today, “Running is arguably the most individual sport there is. The mind is the motor that fuels the desire to continue and convince the body there is more to give. Teammates are more on the periphery.” It wasn’t about beating my sweet sister. I love soccer because it is a team sport and I’m all about the “T-E-A-M.” This was about breaking down a mental barrier of what the enemy had convinced me was a vice as a Godly woman. To be victorious! To conquer! To overcome! To exert power and strength-to run free and abandoned without fear of being too much. 1 Corinthians 9:26-27a “Therefore I run thus: not with uncertainty. Thus I fight: not as one who beats the air. 27 But I discipline my body and bring it into subjection…”


I am currently training to run a half marathon in San Francisco in October. It's important that I don't get all the way to San Francisco and realize that I haven't trained myself both physically AND mentally. Isn't life like a marathon? Our path is filled with hills and valleys. There are times we want to give up but we keep going and we learn to endure to the end no matter what we "feel." 2 Timothy 4:7 "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith."


Thankfully, my sweet fellow camper was not offended by my sudden need to display strength. She said, “ I really appreciate you doing that. It makes me better.” Isn’t that awesome? We came in together-spurring each other on to greatness. I felt like God was cheering his girls on from the sidelines like a proud Father.

I understand there are a lot of people out of balance the other way-they have to win but this is my story of learning how to be who God created me to be. I pray that through this you feel freedom to be who He created YOU to BE which is BE-YOU-TIFUL. Not to be like someone else but to be unique, strong, resilient, determined and to finish the race strong!Don’t lay down. Rise up mighty warrior. You do have what it takes. Jesus has given you every thing you need for the victory! Romans 8:37 Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.





quote from "Runner-Cross Country and Track," by Kevin Lonnquist, Trophy Club Times, 29 June, 2011, sec. B pg 3.