The Pacer

It has been a very busy few days around here. This past weekend I ran my first half-marathon thanks to my best friend from high school who got pregnant unexpectedly and needed someone to fill her spot. Given that I have two toddlers, I had done no additional training for this outside of my normal workout regimen. I am happy to say that I actually did really well, finishing quite a bit faster than I had expected. The fact that I can be ridiculously competitive with total strangers (this is a by-product of my "Type A-ness") actually served me well in a race environment. Once the gun went off, I found a woman in the wave ahead of me who had really great legs and a serious looking running watch. I told myself that she was not going to cross the finish line without me and for 10 miles I didn't let her out of my sight. I stayed close behind, even stopping to drink only when she did. Come mile 10, I realized that I was only 3 miles from the finish line. At that point, 3 miles felt like nothing. I knew that I could run those last three miles no matter how much that right hip and left knee hurt so I bid my running mate (who probably thought I was a creepy stalker by then) adieu and let her eat my dust, running as fast as I could to the finish line. (:

The whole experience got me thinking about adoption. There are a lot of parallels with doing something gruelling like competitive racing and adopting (which as a process can also be nothing short of gruelling). I finished the race because I found a pacer. I found someone who was a little further ahead of me, running just a little bit faster than I might normally run. I found someone who had a little more confidence than I did, because she probably had a bit more experience than I did - and I followed her. And having her to follow made all the difference. This is why those of us who have adopted need to share our stories. The process can be so daunting (much like mile 10) but when you can keep your eyes on someone ahead of you who knows the course, you can muster up enough hope and faith to take the steps needed to cross the finish line. We had pacers in Shelley and Dan. This couple dared to open up their home to a precious Ugandan orphan, having minimal resources and a house full of kids already. We watched them and in some ways followed them along the course, especially in the early stages. We have now crossed the finish line and are hopefully helping others as pacers. We as members of the larger adoptive community need each other in this way. We need to share our stories so others can finish the journey too and God can create forever families. Ultimately, we are also all following Christ's lead as the master pacer who encourages us to do "all things" (even marathons and adoptions) through Him who gives us the strength we don't think we have to endure.

I'm really glad I did the race as I had always wanted to do some competitive running but just never got around to it even though I've been running forever. I wanted to do a race this year and my birthday is this week. I guess that's one thing I can check off on my list this year (along with "Leave carefree yuppie life behind and become a mom to two toddlers from another country"). As I reflect back on the year, it's hard not to be acutely aware of how much my life has changed. Allow me to provide just one story by way of illustration. When we left for the race, we were of course running late and I was questioning why I was even bothering to do this given how much hassle things that used to be easy (hop in the car, go somewhere and run) are now. We were not 20 minutes out of town when Big Bear - and I am not exaggerating here, I thought she hit me in the head with something - projectile vomited all over the back of my seat and me. It's also worth pointing out here that the very same laptop on which I now type was put in the seat pocket on the back of my seat for "safe keeping". We had to pull the car over at a random Target off the freeway, strip Junia down, wipe the barf off of her, her clothes, her carseat, my seat, the floor, the laptop, and did I mention my hair? Thankfully, Davis managed to find some wipes at Target that took out most of the smell so we were able to endure the rest of the drive to our destination. Let's just say that cough syrup, cottage cheese and car sickness probably don't mix. The crazy part of it all was that by the time we got to my parents' house where we were staying the night before the race and got the kids bathed and fed, I was so dog tired that I honestly had the following thoughts in my head: "My hair doesn't really smell THAT bad, does it? (*actually sniff hair here to test odor*) I mean, there wasn't THAT much barf in it and it's not really even hard anymore. Do I really need to wash it now or can I wait until after the race?" So this is now my life, one where there are actually varying degrees of "barf grossness", and life is good.

Next year when I run this, I want to run for Heart for Africa. It was so cool to see runners wearing Heart for Africa shirts during the race and to see a big tent hosted by the organization to raise funds for Swaziland at the post-race festivities. I guess that means there will be a "next year". I only wish I knew for certain if there was another adoption race in our future. Thankfully, God knows and hems us in both in front and in back, placing His hand upon us as we seek to follow His will. I know that when the time is right to step out again, we will both know it as we did in our race to Junia and Eden. Hey, at least on round two, we'll have had almost a year's worth of training. That's got to count for something, right?

Thanks to Gammy who yet again gets the award for fun fashion finds for the little ladies. Loving these race day hats.