Flip the Script

 "You can't always choose the outcome, but you can always choose to keep moving forward." Kara Goucher

A few weeks ago, I got injured. I had been so excited for my comeback at Marquette. The last time I ran Marquette was in 2019 when I was finishing my chemo from breast cancer. Then this year, I couldn't wait to go back strong and try to crush it. 

Same area, 6 years later..

When I realized, I wasn't going to have the race I hoped for due to injury, I prayed and pouted. I grieved my expectations and then made peace with them, remembering not my will, but Thy will be done. I didn't use my setback as an excuse NOT to try, nor did I let go of faith that the Lord would still show up. I kept hope, but I also carried peace-the kind that surpasses all understanding. And honestly, that peace had left the deepest imprint on my heart.

Even my client Jean asked me when I was injured, "Why don't you just not do it?" But for me, giving up was never an option.  It wasn't about proving something-it was about showing up trusting God, and running the race set before me, however it looked. 

The truth is, I didn't make my goal. And that could have left me drowning in emotional carnage-disappointment, discouragement, frustration, all heavy things we often feel. Sometimes life feels like lament, and other times like loss. But more often than not, when we step back, we realize it can just as easily turn into laughter. 

Because the truth is, we often take ourselves too seriously, and when we do, we risk missing the silver linings God has tucked into the struggle. We get stuck on stupid instead of seeing the sacred. 

This whole perspective was stirred in me again through my pastors sermon this past weekend: Don't waste your tragedy. I gave it a little different spin. God can use the pain and the pieces for His purpose and you can still shine in that darkness. 

The Rundown:

It's your race, your journey. Whether on the trail or in life it may not look like what you planned. Truth is life doesn't always give us everything we want. But learn to flip the script. When surrendered, even loss can turn into laughter and lament can move to life giving lessons. 

"And the peace of God that transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus." Phil 4:7

In Peace, Not Pieces, 

Anita