Self-made man/woman

How many times have you heard the phrase “self-made man”?  I know I’ve heard it several times over the year.  Do you believe it? Well, I don’t.  In my opinion no one is self-made.  We all owe countless debts that we can never repay.  God has given us everything that we are and will ever be and his son sacrificed his own life that we might live eternally.  So our first debt is to God.  Then of course there are also many others we are indebted to like parents, teachers, friends, spouses, family members, coworkers and fellow believers.  All these people have shaped us into who we are today in my opinion.  Yes, some still stick out their chest as to say, “Look at me and what I did”.  However in our quiet moments when we search the depths of our hearts, we know better.  

~ By humility and fear of the Lord are riches and honor and life. ~ Proverbs 22:4

I will also say that there is a difference to me in self-made and determination.  A person that succeeds also has a lot of determination!  I shared a runner’s poem with my team yesterday that tells the story of a runner.

Here it is:

~ Running isn't a sport for pretty boys... it's about the sweat in your hair and the blisters on your feet. It's the frozen spit on your chin and the nausea in your gut. It's about throbbing calves and cramps at midnight that are strong enough to wake the dead. It's about getting out the door and running when the rest of the world is only dreaming about having the passion that you need to live each and every day with. It's about being on a lonely road and running like a champion even when there's not a single soul in sight to cheer you on. Running is all about having the desire to train and persevere until every fiber in your legs, mind, and heart is turned to steel. And when you've finally forged hard enough, you will have become the best runner you can be. And that's all that you can ask for. ~ Paul Maurer

Back in January, I was looking at growing my run team and wondering how it would all work out.  I was skeptical on how to handle a large team.  So I did what I normally do when I’m nervous or anxious.  I went to a quiet place and prayed.  It was almost like the movie about baseball where the guy hears the words, “if you build it they will come”.  I sat their quietly and asked God to just lead me.  It was then that a peace came over me and I felt him telling me to just have faith.  He would send the team members and he would also take care of the donations.   Well, we went from 23 team members to 42 pretty quickly.  As we were setting our goal for 2015, we were nervous and anxious.  I wondered if we would be able to just accomplish the $28,000 we did the year before.

This year has been incredible! We’ve raised over $40,000 and an article was published in a local Memphis paper telling our story.  I was honored and thrilled when they contacted me asking about the team.  There will be 40 of us running in Memphis this Saturday! 

Here’s the list:

Marathon:  Nestor, Philip, Kim, Kathy, Bryon, Deleica, Tracey, Be, Ronnie, Jason, Stephani, Katherine, Scott, Joe, Marketta, Marlinda, Tom, Kelvin, Sunshine, & Jennifer.  That’s 20 doing the marathon.

Half Marathon: Frank, Wallace, Amie, Matthew, Daniel, Krista, Cindy, Jake, Jennifer, Bubba, Kevin, Brittney, Mary Ann, Kasey, Landon, Brooklyn, Celeste, Kristen, JoAnn, Serina & Melissa.  That’s 21 total with 20 doing the half (1 is on injured list currently. She’s going to be the best dang cheerleader ever cheering for us at the race).

Please say a special prayer for us.  Pray for endurance, strength, but most of all for us to do God’s will.  We run for the kids at St. Jude! They are our heroes.  Much Love, D