Hallelujah, praise the Lord, stop the presses, a miracle has occurred! I jogged 2.5 miles out of 3.75 miles today.
Oh dear readers, if you only knew me as well as my family knows me, you would realize this is a gargantuan big deal. The farthest I had ever run in one day, before today, was one quarter of a mile when I was in fifth grade. By sixth grade I had “developed” enough to earn the nick name that would follow me through high school: mountains.
And since they didn’t have sports bras back in those days my running came to an abrupt stop. Some of you know what I mean when I say, I could have given myself a black eye or worse yet, knocked myself out. For my safety and the safety of those around me I “had” to stop running.
So, why in the world am I running now? That is a great question considering that I am 49-years- old, seriously overweight, and the “mountains” are now sinking into the sea, if you know what I mean.
Well, this question, “Why run now?” brings me to the real story: Gifts can sometimes come from the most unusual places and in the most unusual ways. You see, I thought I had a problem, but actually I had a remarkable, unimaginable, life changing gift.
Now, stay with me as I tell you this, because it is going to seem all wrong. My gift is that my son Dillon smokes cigarettes. Yes, yes, I know many of you are thinking how in the world could that be a gift? Well, let me tell you, it is because my God is amazing. And He always seems to work outside the box in my family’s life. We so often look like a mess, (probably because we are) but if you look a little deeper you will see my heavenly Father’s fingerprints all over our lives.
Oh dear readers, if you only knew me as well as my family knows me, you would realize this is a gargantuan big deal. The farthest I had ever run in one day, before today, was one quarter of a mile when I was in fifth grade. By sixth grade I had “developed” enough to earn the nick name that would follow me through high school: mountains.
And since they didn’t have sports bras back in those days my running came to an abrupt stop. Some of you know what I mean when I say, I could have given myself a black eye or worse yet, knocked myself out. For my safety and the safety of those around me I “had” to stop running.
So, why in the world am I running now? That is a great question considering that I am 49-years- old, seriously overweight, and the “mountains” are now sinking into the sea, if you know what I mean.
Well, this question, “Why run now?” brings me to the real story: Gifts can sometimes come from the most unusual places and in the most unusual ways. You see, I thought I had a problem, but actually I had a remarkable, unimaginable, life changing gift.
Now, stay with me as I tell you this, because it is going to seem all wrong. My gift is that my son Dillon smokes cigarettes. Yes, yes, I know many of you are thinking how in the world could that be a gift? Well, let me tell you, it is because my God is amazing. And He always seems to work outside the box in my family’s life. We so often look like a mess, (probably because we are) but if you look a little deeper you will see my heavenly Father’s fingerprints all over our lives.
Let me give you a little background info. Dillon grew up in a home where we spent a great deal of time trying to teach our children not to smoke. My husband, Donald, had smoked from the age of 13 until our oldest son, Adrin, was three months old. Donald had quit because he thought, “how can I tell my child not to smoke when I smoke?”
All three of our boys had heard this story their entire lives. Not only that, but they had been taught at school that smoking was bad for their health. We really thought cigarette smoking was not going to be an issue for us. But like with so many other things, we were wrong!
Like any good mother my first reaction was, “what will the neighbors think?” Yes, people admit it: pride shows up when our kids do things we wish they wouldn’t. After I tucked my pride away, my course of action was a three pronged approach: I would pray, cry and nag.
I was really good at the nagging, until it backfired on me one day. I was using all my best material — how can you smoke after all you have been told; you know how bad smoking is for your health; you know it breaks your mother’s heart that you smoke. I was on a roll, and then Dillon politely but strongly placed the “gift” in my lap.
He said, “Don’t talk to me about my health when you are so overweight and out of shape.” OUCH! But he was right. How could I lecture him about his poor decisions when I had been making my own for years?
Dillon went on to challenge me, “If you will do a 5k, I will never touch a cigarette again in my life.” Well folks, what’s a mother to do, but get off her big rear end and start training to jog a 5k?
Has this gift been an easy one to open? Not on your life. But a gift it has been. It is truly a miracle (and so is the Nike sports bra.) Many, many prayers have been shouted, cried, whispered, and even sung to heaven as I have walked/jogged my course. I have now lost 47 pounds and I actually look forward to my morning walk/jog. I am still not ready to jog an entire 5k, but I see light at the end of the tunnel.
Who but God could have written a script that has my son’s smoking be one of the best things that ever happened to me? (Now, I am not saying God made Dillon smoke but that God can make all work together for good.)
God knew the only thing that would motivate me to take care of me was the love I have for my son. And He also knew that the love I have for my son would be enough to change Dillon’s life as well. When it is all said and done I will be thinner and healthier, and Dillon will be a non-smoker.
Who but God could have found a way to make a Marlboro pack such an amazing gift?
All three of our boys had heard this story their entire lives. Not only that, but they had been taught at school that smoking was bad for their health. We really thought cigarette smoking was not going to be an issue for us. But like with so many other things, we were wrong!
Like any good mother my first reaction was, “what will the neighbors think?” Yes, people admit it: pride shows up when our kids do things we wish they wouldn’t. After I tucked my pride away, my course of action was a three pronged approach: I would pray, cry and nag.
I was really good at the nagging, until it backfired on me one day. I was using all my best material — how can you smoke after all you have been told; you know how bad smoking is for your health; you know it breaks your mother’s heart that you smoke. I was on a roll, and then Dillon politely but strongly placed the “gift” in my lap.
He said, “Don’t talk to me about my health when you are so overweight and out of shape.” OUCH! But he was right. How could I lecture him about his poor decisions when I had been making my own for years?
Dillon went on to challenge me, “If you will do a 5k, I will never touch a cigarette again in my life.” Well folks, what’s a mother to do, but get off her big rear end and start training to jog a 5k?
Has this gift been an easy one to open? Not on your life. But a gift it has been. It is truly a miracle (and so is the Nike sports bra.) Many, many prayers have been shouted, cried, whispered, and even sung to heaven as I have walked/jogged my course. I have now lost 47 pounds and I actually look forward to my morning walk/jog. I am still not ready to jog an entire 5k, but I see light at the end of the tunnel.
Who but God could have written a script that has my son’s smoking be one of the best things that ever happened to me? (Now, I am not saying God made Dillon smoke but that God can make all work together for good.)
God knew the only thing that would motivate me to take care of me was the love I have for my son. And He also knew that the love I have for my son would be enough to change Dillon’s life as well. When it is all said and done I will be thinner and healthier, and Dillon will be a non-smoker.
Who but God could have found a way to make a Marlboro pack such an amazing gift?
