Living Water

It was the WORST marathon experience of my life.

Halfway through, something went horribly wrong. I was having a few issues & I felt my goals, along with all my motivation, slipping out the window.  Physically, I felt done. Mentally, I felt done. And I still had 13 miles to go. 13!!

I held back tears as I switched between walking & running- ok, shuffling. HOW could I finish?

Words can’t describe how disappointed I was in myself. It was not what I trained for. Not what I planned for.

Just then, a lady came up from behind me. She walked & talked with me for a few minutes until she took off again. Immediately my spirits were lifted.

Mile after mile, strangers spoke words of encouragement to me, many struggling themselves. And my feet somehow kept taking the next step. And the next.

And when I was dying of thirst in the hot sun, a woman on a motorbike appeared & offered ice from her little cooler, which I shoved right into my mouth. It was heaven-sent! I was like- is there room on that motorbike for me? JK! Kinda…

I realized,

I wasn’t alone.

I wasn’t hopeless.

And I wasn’t thirsty.

Sometimes life feels like the longest road.

It’s not what you planned for.

Is there anything left to give?

Yes!

Look around. YOU ARE NOT ALONE.

“In all their afflictions he was afflicted. And the angel of his presence saved them; & in his love, & in his pity, he redeemed them, & bore them, & carried them all the days of old” (D&C 133:53)

Angels of His presence surround us in our fatigue.

And He, our greatest angel, “at unspeakable cost, lifts us up when we have fallen, carries us forward when strength is gone, delivers us safely home when safety seems far beyond our reach.” (Holland)

He is our water stop- Living Water.

“I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely. (Rev.21:6)

“In the barren deserts there shall come forth pools of living water; & the parched ground shall no longer be a thirsty land.” (D&C 133:29)

Christ fills the dry cracks of my soul. 

And when I cannot seem to get to Him, He shows up. On His motorbike. With ice cubes… heaven-sent.

I finished that marathon, btw. With everything I had.

I will finish this one, too.