I was crushed when I didn't get selected to run the Houston Half. I registered to run in Sugarland, but it's just not the same as the hype of the actual Houston marathon. A few weeks back, a friend called me and said that KSBJ and Living Water had 50 spots available. I had to write how the Lord spoke to me during my runs. I had 3 screaming kids when I quickly jotted some thoughts down and was surprised when I was chosen to run for the team.
I have to admit I was not at all excited about the aspect of raising money, but this is such an awesome charity. It is one that my father has done mission trips with in the past and that was one of the reasons I even applied for one of the spots. After talking to my dad last night, I got even more excited about who I was running for.
Living Water International exists to demonstrate the love of God by helping communities acquire desperately needed clean water and to experience "Living Water" - the gospel of Jesus Christ - which alone satisfies the deepest thirst.
The email I got yesterday talked about running sacrificially. Wow....I have been doing it selfishly. As I was running this morning in the cold drizzly rain and wishing I was inside under a nice warm blanket, I thought about how many people would walk for miles to hear the word of God or even for a glass of water to quench their physical thirst. On Living Water's website, it says that in a drought women will walk up to 7 miles for water. I have no idea what it is like to thirst like that. I run 7 miles for fun, they walk 7 miles out of necessity.
Not surprisingly, the Lord began to stir in my heart how often I reach for what is not living when I have such easy access to the living. I reach for my diet coke, when I could have pure, clean water that is vital to life. I reach for the latest book, phone, tv remote control in my spare time when I could be reaching for His word. I look to others for comfort when I have the ultimate comforter.
The challenge that came to me on my run was to give up my diet coke and replace it with a glass of water. It will be a reminder to me of every time I want a drink, why I am running and the life that we have. I was telling J about it after my run and he suggested that I give the money that I would have otherwise spent on cokes and put it towards my fundraising goal.
The coolest thing to me though was when I go on to living water website, they are having a 10 day challenge of Drink Water so Others can have water. I hadn't read this before my run so it was confirmation to me. The idea is this, instead of spending money on coffee, soft drinks, etc, that you will put your money towards providing water for a country in need. Will you sacrifice 10 days of other drinks and give to Living Water?
My fundraising page:
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1 comment:
Great perspective and great cause!
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