Rocking Into My Tenth State Race

{ Reclaimed Ministry Small Group Training }

I love how God connects people.

This past October I was in Alabama for a women's retreat where I met Christie and many others from My Springs Church in Mississippi. After spending a weekend together, I was intrigued by Christie's story and then invited to run with her at the New Orleans Rock and Roll 1/2 Marathon.

It was just a year ago that Christie and her husband Gabe woke up to the smell of smoke raging through their home. With nearly nothing on their backs and being eight months pregnant with their third child, Christie and her husband grabbed their older two kids and raced outside. The home, a family estate with generations of memories, devastated to the foundation.

And yet, Christie still smiles.

A hero in my book.

This past weekend I was able to stand in their newly constructed home, be greeted with huge hugs, given the full home tour by sweet Annabelle, and was witness to God's faithfulness to this sweet family after processing an incredibly challenging year.

My friends, from My Springs Church, introduced me to fried pickles, catfish, hushpuppies, chicken and okra. My grease lined stomach sadly missed out on the fried Oreos! But not to worry... after a little ministry work and Reclaimed Small Group Training, Christie and I drove to New Orleans to run that race she had so graciously invited me to. Due to a bum knee, Christie was only able to run the 10k, but that didn't bother me. I was happy to accomplish another state goal and cross another finish line to gain my tenth state towards my 50 by 50! And by far the most flat race only climbing a grand total of 23 feet. Refreshing after that last race...

It was after the race I continued my fried foods tour and experienced the deliciously powdered beignet. Amazing. Olive Garden's dessert has no leg to stand on over the real deal! Thanks to both Christie and her friend Lauren, I was able to see much of the landscape in the land of beads, jazz and parades before boarding my flight home to the land of snow, winds and school cancellations.

Thank you to those that greeted me with such love and open arms in Collins, and to my running buddies that allowed me to cheer, encourage and maybe push them through the finish line.