"Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perserverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfector of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart." Hebrews 12.1-3

in the fall, we were two miserable students sitting in anthropology class attempting to occupy the lecture time with anything but what the professor wanted to say so, we began reading a blog. it's the story of libby ryder and her battle against cancer. since september, God has used libby's story to awaken in us a realization of the story he has written for our own lives. libby has shown us what it means to set our eyes on Jesus and run, with reckless abandonment, into the arms of the Father. libby's friend angie has decided to run a half marathon in celebration of the end of libby's chemo and, lord willing, her cancer. following libby's example, we are joining in the celebration. we. are. not. runners. we are scared. we are full of doubts. but, we are inspired. the past year has been full of triumphs and tribulations for us, too. this is a physical representation of us throwing off everything that has hindered and entangled- pain, heartache, doubt, shame- and running to Jesus and basking in his grace. this run is for libby. this run if for freedom. our only hope is that He will be glorified.

"Let us hear joy and gladness; let the bones you have broken rejoice!" Psalm 51.8

Monday, February 7, 2011

risky.

this weekend the young life tarheel region met for a conference in greensboro. it was a great time to refocus and get fed truth. something that struck me in the club talks was the idea of riskiness. ministry is 'risky'. stepping out of the boat was 'risky' for peter. a one-liner that the speaker used was "if you want to know a big God, need a big God." basically, if i want to know God and his power and experience his love in its entirety, i need to actually take risks so that without him, i'll fall flat on my face. oh have i begun to taste the strength of our enormous God...

case in point: our 3 mile run.

yesterday we did 3 miles. after friday and feeling like i could've run for longer, i wasn't too scared. but yesterday, fear began to creep in during the first 5 minutes. it was a beautiful day to run and the road we were running on was more-or-less flat. but i was relying on myself. my focus was somewhere else. it wasn't even on my lack of breath or pain in my legs or how much longer we had to run. i was just not focused on God.

after the 1 mile mark, i began to focus. jesus. libby. the cross. hebrews 12. God's strength. our purpose. and i began to breathe deeper. my legs weren't painful, they were strong. the distance just turned into more time i had to worship and focus on this journey that is so much greater than myself. then, in christ alone started to play,

"there in the ground, his body lay
light of the world by darkness slain
then bursting forth, in glorious day
up from the grave he rose again"

my feet began to move faster. the celebratory fist pumps became more frequent and, multiple times, i lifted my hands in worship and surrender. jesus took my pride, my brokenness, and my pain when he died on the cross. but he broke it's power when he rose from the grave. i was running towards jesus, not the 3 mile mark.

this journey is paralleling so much of the Gospel. my prayer is that we don't lose sight of that or our huge God. it's overwhelming but it's all so, so sweet.

[sweet Laney, thanks for running with us yesterday. thanks for being an incredible teammate and an even more incredible friend. thank you for joining us in this race. and also the race in nashville.]

trying to take a risk,
Julia


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1 comment:

  1. Hannah LeilaniFebruary 9, 2011 at 8:02 AM

    Ahh girls! Just discovered your blog...way to go!! So happy ya'll are running the half! I'm sad I won't be able to :( But God knows. And I am SO happy you are going to be able to. Lib is one of my dearest friends, and I know this support means so much to her. So thank you! God bless ya!

    ~Hannah
    hannahleilani.blogspot.com

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