It was to be my “Swan Song”! My final 5K Run. It was going great, actually better then I could have expected.

3 runs per week, increasing the distance, the endurance and improving my time with each run.

April 24, 2019: A cool morning, yet perfect for a run. My goal was right at my fingertips. I ran 3 miles in 39:15 minutes that morning -an average pace of 13:05 per mile. That placed me in contention for a medal in my age group. “I’ve got this” was my victory cry!

Things were looking up! One more practice run and I had it wrapped up. One more run for time, distance, and endurance, and I would be ready for my “Swan Song”.

Yes things were looking up and this goal was within my reach… I was running with endurance, excitement and pride knowing at the end of my final 5K, I could hang up my sneakers and know I had a fun and fulfilling 10 years.

I would run my last 5K on the track at Anchor Bay High School where I was a member of the Track and Field Team oh so many years ago.

April 26, 2019: I was up and ready for the last run! However, something had happened between my previous run and that morning. I suffered an injury that stopped me at the 2 mile mark on my last practice run. With a heavy heart I had to walk home. 

Since that time I have seen the Chiropractor, had hip x-rays, completed a 4 week course of physical therapy, transferred my care to an OMM specialist, been on 2 different courses of steroids, followed a structured regiment of “at home exercises”, Ibuprofen, Neurontin  and icing the injury (3 times a day for 3 weeks), followed up weekly with the OMM specialist, began using a Compounded Cream… All of this, and yet the pain and injury have prohibited me, to this day, from running.

My “Swan Song” of running the race with endurance has been temporarily placed on hold, if not permanently over.

I wanted my decision to quit running to be my choice. I remain hopeful that I will run again. However, in the meantime, I have remained faithful as a “Kingdom Builder”, running the race God has set before me as a Modern Day Disciple. 

I have focused on updating my Prayer Journal. I have used this time to record sermon notes from as far back as April in my Spiritual Journal.  I have made meals for an elderly parent of a dear friend. I have encouraged and spent time with yet another dear friend as she continues to mourn the loss of her husband. 

In other words, God has used me as a vessel of his unconditional love, amazing grace and tender mercies as I continue to minister to others.

As we prepare for the race, train for the race, and run the race of “LIFE”, let us all be faithful in spite of our limitations. 

God does not expect us to serve his church, the community, and world of mission and ministry with the same level of endurance as we grow tired and weary. 

Instead he asks us to run the race with endurance, seeking and serving as we glorify his kingdom each and every day using the gifts and talents he has blessed us with.

Blessings,
Martha Powers