Today, we leave for the state track meet. It is one little girl's, I mean one young woman's final trip. Last year, we talked about if she wanted to try to be back there one more time. There were so many things that could have stopped her including a really, I mean really rough cross-country season. She has battled through coaching changes, health issues, crazy work, school, and life schedules, but through all of it, she has had a joyful spirit of loving her teammates and pouring her life into them. She has turned every hard thing into a positive because that is the woman that God is making her to be in the midst of things that might have been too much for people twice her age and experience. Her track season has had ups and downs like all seasons, and we are thankful that God has given her one more chance to love "her girls" as she calls them and one more chance to show that running can be worship.
This season, she has fallen in love with the 800m. She has mastered the quick thinking, hard running, and total self-giving that the race requires. It doesn't hurt that she is quite scrappy. Her personality perfectly fits the 800. Her passion and fire explode on the track, and it is beautiful to watch!
And as I reflect on these truths today, I'm excited to see her run and love her team, but more than that, I am grateful to the LORD God of the universe, Maker of heaven and earth that He made her and that He so kindly gave her to me to be my daughter. She is a blessing that I didn't know that I needed or wanted. She is the most beautiful of women, and I am so blessed to be her mother. It is joy to see her run, but more than that, it is joy to see the beauty and wisdom that God is building into her.
