Gate River Run

Troy and I ran the Gate River Run a couple of weeks ago with a few of our friends. Thanks to the Peacock Express we arrived much too early, while it was still dark (and cold). I had an interesting port-a-potty adventure that morning. I'm not that experienced at porta-pottying it and true story - on this morning I went pee while the lid was down. Now, one would think something wasn't right when they didn't hear any pee hitting the bottom of the "hole", but as I said, I haven't had many porta-john experiences. I just thought there was enough whatever already in the hole and that's why I didn't hear my pee. It wasn't until I asked my good friend Emily (who was using the "stall" beside me) "where do you put the toilet paper?" that I realized I had gone to the bathroom with the lid down. SERIOUSLY, what porta-potty has a lid?!!! These must have been top of the line porta Johns. No worries, my friends...my legs, feet and shorts were completely dry. I'm still not sure where my pee went.

Anyway, after an hour or three of walking around and not enjoying the closed expo it was time for the run to start. There were about 12000 runners this year and it felt like you were in the middle of the pact no matter what pace you ran. It was a crowded, brutal run. My endurance wasn't tested, but man, the pavement just reached up and smacked every joint and muscle in my feet and legs. My goal was to finish in under 2 hours. My official time was 2:02 so I wasn't hanging my head low.

My favorite part about the run was going through the neighborhoods on Hendricks and River Road. Families were out cheering us on; kids were handing out water and fruit slices. It was white-picket fence America and it made me smile to think it does exist.

Something really caught my eye in one particular neighborhood. A woman was holding a sign that read "Chase what matters." Wow - I thought about those words for quite some time after I passed her, and they still rattle me when I think about what they mean. As I thought about her sign I couldn't help but think about the hustle and bustle each day brings...most weekdays seem almost robotic in our household - wake up, get ready, get Emma ready, rush to get out the door, sit in traffic, drop Emma off, get to work, work, pick up Emma, sit in traffic, prepare dinner, eat dinner, bathe Emma, put Emma to bed, get myself ready to do it all over again the next day. I have been asking myself what I'm really chasing. Is it sense of family? Is it self-fulfillment? Is it corporate approval and success? Then like a ton of bricks it hit me that we don't exist to satisfy any of those things. We're supposed to be building the kingdom. Chasing His glory. I have been challenging myself to chase what matters daily. I hope you do the same.