A Poem for Me

In our church we have a program called visiting teaching. Every woman in our congregation over the age of 18 is assigned a pair of visiting teachers. These ladies visit together once a month. The purpose of the progra,m is to develop connections, friendships, and stewardship. Sure, sometimes the connections and friendships feel superficial and forced and sometimes the pairs just don't work out. And yes, sometimes women don't want to visit or be visited. Overall, however, the program works how it is supposed to and women do feel connected.

My current visiting teacher didn't have a chance to actually come and visit me in my home before they switched up the routes and she was reassigned. However, she took the time to find out a little bit about me (I only see her at church) and then got me a couple of things to let me know she was thinking of me. She got me some yummy smelling lotion and some gardening tools. But perhaps the most meaningful gift was the poem she wrote to honor my running.

The Runner

What others don't always get to see, the runner see,s

Beautiful fields, rivers, lakes & trees.

She smells fresh cut grass, leaves and flowers in the summer.

She runs past beaches with ocean views beside her.

Each step in her race puts her closer to the finish line and further from the beginning.

But her running is more about the journey and less about

winning.

She loves to run no matter how far,

These are a few things she cannot enjoy in a car.

For the runner is blessed beyond measure with health, strength,

and peace.

The wonders of her world will never cease.

Thank you so much Debi Bickelhaupt. That poem means so much to me--especially the line about running being more about the journey than winning. Running is all about the journey for me. It is the time when I connect with my friends. And lately, it has been the time when I have heard the clearest messages and lessons from my Heavenly Father.

Quotes of Comfort for My Journey

Every mile earned, never given.

I don't need easy, just possible.

Keep your dreams just out of reach, not unreachable.


The first two were quotes that I saw frequently along my marathon route. I would repeat them to myself as I could feel the discouragement and fatigue set in. The last quote I had read a couple of weeks previous and that one also echoed through my mind during those last long 16.2 miles. I don't know that I am usually motivated (or comforted for that matter) by quotes, but I during my run I did find comfort and motivation in these quotes. I think the became embedded in my psyche and pushed me forward when I didn't think I could go on.

Then today during sacrament meeting those same quotes came back into focus as I listened to the speakers share their messages about discipleship. Becoming a true disciple of Christ isn't always easy, but it is possible. It will take courage, determination, and faith. There will certainly be times (and there already have been many) when movement along the path towards Christ will be an earned moment. I know that becoming like Christ and returning to live with my Savior and God, my Heavenly Father is a goal that right now is just out of reach. However, as I turn to Jesus and seek after Him, those goals of discipleship and eternal life are attainable through Jesus Christ;  how comforting it is to know that those goals are not unreachable.

On this Sabbath day, may you find comfort and joy in knowing that Christ is with us every day. He guides us through our journey here below; sometimes making us earn that forward progress, but making all things possible through Him.

26.2...I Did It!

Saturday I participated in the Wenatchee Marathon. I can't say "ran" because truth is, I ran/walked it. That certainly wasn't my intention and definitely not what I had trained for. My finishing time was certainly off of the goal I had set while training. But there were some obstacles that appeared that I hadn't trained for.

I hadn't trained for:

• stomach issues that plagued me all week the week before the race.
• said stomach issues rendering me useless about mile 14; fortunately there was a porta-pottie about that time where I spent a couple of minutes. From there on out I just had to run/walk as the cramps waxed and waned.
• my nutrition totally not working for me. I had been very diligent in my training in regards to nutrition. I found a system that worked for me on all of my long runs. Unfortunately, on Saturday that regimen didn't work. Every time I took in some sort of nutrition I immediately began to feel sick. That was most likely due to the stomach issues during the week.
• running 22 miles by myself. I am a social runner. I train with a large group. I don't run with music because our group usually spends the entirety of our long runs talking. Going into Saturday's marathon, the intention was to stick together. It became apparent by mile 3 that that wasn't going to happen. The race was relatively small in participants so there were times when it really felt as if I was the only one on the course. That was a little hard to mentally overcome.

From that description, it probably sounds like I had an awful race and experience. And at moments during the marathon I wouldn't have disagreed. There were moments that felt completely awful and discouraging. BUT, there were some great moments as well. Moments that I want to remember because they were wonderful learning and faith-building moments.

Friday night I had prayed that I would, 1) have a good race and meet my goal time; 2) if I couldn't meet my goal time that I would just be able finish the race; 3) that if things got tough I would have the mental fortitude to just push through them and 4) that I would always have a happy face and kind words when I saw my support crew of family members.

God is a god of miracles. He certainly could have healed my stomach issues and helped me meet my trained for goal finish time. However, He is also an omniscient God and knows how to best teach me. It would have been so easy for Him to have helped me achieve my goal. I think, though, He wanted me to learn a greater lesson.

 He knew that I once and for all needed to learn that I do have the mental fortitude to persevere even under difficult and trying circumstances. I have often told one of my running friends that she is mentally tougher than I am. I think at times I have used it as an excuse to not give a 100% effort, back off a training run, or even quit a run saying "I just can't". Well, finishing Saturday's marathon proved that I can. The way the course was configured we had to run by the finish line twice before we finished. Once was at mile 6, the other at mile 16. I got sick at mile 14. I spent the next 2 miles seriously contemplating just quitting when I reached mile 16. I was sick. I had an excuse. But I had prayed that Heavenly Father would help me finish the race. So as I approached mile 16, I said to myself  "Just keep going. Get past mile 16 and then you are past the point of no return." Mile 16 came and went. I had mentally willed myself beyond the easy quitting point. I can do hard things.

Now, I didn't feel significantly better, but I did notice that Heavenly Father was sending me blessings. So another lesson I learned was how to recognize blessing when things are really crappy. I noticed that the cloud cover came just as I was beginning to overheat. The wind always seemed to be at my back. My piriformis muscle that had been hurting on the last two long training runs and even the week leading up to the marathon was not an issue at all. Matter of fact, with the exception of a really bad calf cramp at mile 10 which worked itself out, I didn't have any problems with my legs until mile 25. My sweet husband always seemed to show up with just the right things to say when I needed him. And even though I was so discouraged, felt horrible, and really wanted to quit, I was still happy to see him and never got snippy or mean (I was really concerned about my ability to be nice when I was feeling crappy; that's why I prayed for that particular assistance).

Saturday I was pretty sure that I was one and done as far as marathons go. Even on Sunday I was still pretty sure that I wouldn't run another. Today? Well today I think another marathon is possible...

More News from Katelyn

Mom,

My favorite talk was also Elder Holland's talk, he just kind of slaps you in the face. I love it!

Ok one of the biggest things that annoys me being out here are the members!! Each night when we have dinner, we share a message and challenge them to invite someone to something that's church related. When we do that a lot of people get super offended because they think we're just passing our work off to them! NO! We are asked to do that by general authorities! And people think the missionaries are more spiritually inclined than everyone else because we're wearing the name tag. The only difference between us and members is a name tag.. That's it. Don't expect the missionaries to do everything. We need help. I don't think people realize how much work we have to do each day. And when we're having dinner all the members want to do is sit and chat. That's another no-no. They need to allow us to share a message and talk about missionary work. We rely on the members to help give referrals. Members should offer to help in anyway they can.

~Sister Graham



She also sent a couple of pictures. The first is with her companion at the Mesa Temple Easter Pageant. The second is with her companion and the ashtray one of their investigators gave them when she committed to quit smoking.

Kate Sent Pictures

This will be a brief blog up-date from Katelyn...just like her weekly e-mails, brief. I think she must have spent her computer time last week uploading pictures because that is about all we got.

First up, she wanted us to know that she wasn't starving and that her pantry is full. Apparently they love the dollar store there. But after looking at the food in her pantry, I know why she was wanting some dieting tips. I suggested she go to a more paleo diet. From the pictures, it looks like she didn't like that idea.

The next picture is one she titled "slightly embarrassing war wound". I think it is from when she crashed on her bike. She must have recovered sufficiently because there wasn't very much description with the picture or the story, just "I crashed"

Apologies for the sideways picture. Blogger wouldn't download the picture when I rotated it. Weird.

And final picture is a 3rd verse for the hymn "Called to Serve

So aside from a bike crash and too many processed foods (in my opinion), she seems to be doing great. She continues to enjoy the work and sharing the good news of Christ.