Since the finish of my triathlon I finally got to running consistently again! But that's not what I want to talk about today. A lot of things have happened over the past few weeks and it's been a while so I feel it's time to reflect. I had my 22nd birthday almost two weeks ago now and an amazing time in Seattle enjoying the Penny Arcade Expo (essentially a convention for gamers and nerds). But on top of that it's under a week until my sister leaves for Germany for a year, she will be missed immensely! But the main reason for the title is that I finally was able to get in touch with my small group leader from Auburn and I was also rummaging through some old notes I had received.
Those notes mean a lot to me. One of them was from an amazing friend that I met at the Auburn Christian Fellowship (most of my friends in Auburn I met through there). The three notes, in my mind, are not just a simple "hey, we miss you" there was time and effort and more thought than I put into a lot of things behind them! The note from my friend I got about a month or two before I left Auburn to come back home to Washington State. When I first saw it on the wall at ACF I couldn't believe that someone would write me a note of encouragement! It's one of those things that life surprised me with and brought immense joy even though it's almost a year and a half from the date I got it. The other two notes are more recent and I received them the last time I was in Auburn for a visit.
That visit was important to me because it let me unwind and also spend some time with amazing people that I had grown to care about and love over my year in Auburn. But the one thing about notes is that they are ever lasting as long as they are kept somewhere safe. I still look at them and feel a sense of encouragement that helps me get through some hard times or a bad training day. It's friends like those that allow me to succeed not only in life but also professionally. Just like that phone call with my small group leader a week or two ago it brings me encouragement and shows the grace of God.
Even though I've had two birthdays since I left Auburn I can still talk to my friends from Auburn as if I saw them just the other day. My most recent birthday was also filled with good laughs and times with some very good friends of mine. A lot of these friends I work with but I can say I have the pleasure of knowing each and everyone of them. Now over my birthday weekend I didn't get any training in but I was walking around Seattle all day, literally from about 10 AM until 2 AM every day for three days straight... Long weekend but overall an absolute blast!
Since I've started rambling on again I'll end it here. The Portland Marathon is a month away from today and it's getting to crunch time now! A 26.2 mile run that I am looking forward to but am also dreading at the same time. Will I do well will I be conditioned enough by that time. I think so but we'll see! Let life be full of surprises and treat every day as a gift because the only direction is forward! Until next time!
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