My Testimony

One of my favorite quotes is "Only God can turn your mess into a message, your test into a testimony, your trial into a triumph, and a victim into a victory."

My testimony is meant to share how God has transformed my life by his loving grace. There is no perfect person. We make mistakes. We hurt others. We just mess up, but God's redeeming and restorative grace covers us. I pray that you see Christ through me and my story.

Many people have asked me, why did you start running? There’s a short answer to that and then there’s a long one. Here’s the short – to be healthy. But the long story is a testimony to God’s work in my life.

I started running on December 5^th, 2010. I ran my first 5k on January 1, 2011 (yes less than a month after I started running). On December 5^th, I made a commitment to change my life and get healthy – physically, mentally, and spiritually. Little did I know God was going to use running as a tool to draw me back into his loving arms.

I grew up in a Christian home led by my mother. My parents were divorced when I was 2. I had intermittent interaction with my father throughout my life but no real relationship. I attended church throughout my youth, believed in God, participated in drama presentation and youth group. I know that there was a solid foundation laid for my life.

I went to Auburn with my high school sweetheart. Shortly into college, young, independent, and ready to conquer the world, I decided to get married. We got married in December of 2006 and quickly, I began to realize I had no idea what this marriage thing was about. It was like we were just dating with rings on. The marriage didn’t change anything but my last name. There was no relationship with Christ and as we began to grow further apart, I began to build walls around my heart so that it couldn’t be heart again.

Our marriage didn’t even last a year. I had failed. I felt so alone and began to “escape” by drinking. Now don’t get me wrong. I was making great grades in school, working through college, and on the outside seemed like everything was going just great, but inside, I was falling apart.

I took a job right out of college working for a nonprofit. A few months after beginning that job, I was confronted with my position being eliminated. I was heartbroken. Confused. Terrified. Thankfully, there was another position opening with the company but that meant moving and starting a new position I knew nothing about.

I moved to Columbus in February of 2009, all alone. I started connecting with people that would drink socially. I thought that was ok because it was just social drinking – just like college had been. I was working a lot, so work kept my mind off things, but when I wasn’t at work, I was alone. As the loneliness grew, so did the drinking, then things turned quickly. For the next year and a half, I led this horrible double life. During the day (and early evenings) I worked for the Boy Scouts – a company with strong morals and values, then at night – no morals and no values. I grew further and further away from the foundation that had been laid in my life as a youth.

The real issue is that I had completely lost touch with my heavenly father. The pain from a lack of relationship with my earthly father was surfacing. I had a failed marriage. I was addicted to alcohol, making poor decisions and bad relationship choices; my life was falling apart.

So in that state of desperation I cried out for change. I needed to replace the unhealthy habits with something, so I started running. I got on a treadmill at the apartment complex, started walking, then jogging, and never looked back. I set small goals for myself. First I just wanted to run 1 minute, then 2 minutes, then 5. Before I knew it I had ran my first mile, so I tackled a 5k. Since January 2011, I have run dozens of 5ks, 10ks, fun runs, and even a couple half marathons. I’m schedule to run my very first full marathon (26.2 miles) on November 9^th of this year!

I’ve trained consistently now for 2 ½ years. I’ve made great friends along the way. I’ve lost more than 50 pounds, and I am healthier now than I have ever been. I once saw a bumper sticker that said “Running is cheaper than therapy,” running was my therapy.

I began dating a really awesome guy almost immediately after the drinking stopped. I had known him for 2 years at that point, but somehow he seemed different now. Correction – I was different now. We ran our first race together on January 30, 2011. In February of 2011, Adam and I began a conversation that led to a prayer and opportunity for me to recommit my life fully to Christ. What an awesome night! I am so thankful to Adam for his spiritual leadership and will always hold that moment in my heart. I think it’s pretty awesome how in one moment God forgives us of our sin (all of it – no matter how bad, how long, how ugly – all of it), but he doesn’t immediately change our character. He places people, events, and yes even something as crazy as running in our lives to transform us. God placed Adam in my life for a reason. Christ’s light shines through him so beautifully. It was even shining through him on December 4^th, the last night I drank. It was Adam who stood in a bar’s parking lot (prior to any dating relationship) pleading with me not to drive. It was God’s grace surrounding me that nothing horrible happened all those nights and I thank him daily for his wonderful mercy and love.

God has blessed my life tremendously. Sometimes I am overwhelmed with gratitude for the grace and mercy he has displayed in my life. God has dealt with my heart on so many issues. In December of 2011 (after one year free from alcohol), I was convicted by God to forgive my father. Unfortunately, I didn’t get to forgive him in person because he died in 2009 (from what I believe was his addiction to alcohol) but I wrote out my transformation story and the forgiveness God gave me and read it to his grave. I cried (a lot) as I released it all. What a freeing moment.

On January 21, 2012, in front of God and our friends and family, Adam and I committed our marriage to Christ. We have been blessed to be a part of Christ Community Church. We have connected and served alongside so many really amazing brothers and sisters in Christ.

During the Spring of this year, God opened the door for me to share my love of running and my love of Christ with others by leading Run for God at Christ Community. God allowed me to guide 60 individuals through a 5k training program that paralleled running with our walk with God. We ran our goal race on April 27^th of this year and everyone did great! There are so many amazing stories from Run for God that I’ll just have to save for a later date. Oh and if you are interested, there will be a fall Run for God class that we would love to see you in!

During Run for God, God sparked an interest in my heart for fitness and helping others achieve physical health. He opened so many doors and now I get to manage Fitness for Women (a women’s only health facility) I get to help ladies with their physical journey daily (and get paid to do it)! God has also allowed me to be a light for others and share Christ with people every day!

God has restored my life. My relationship with him grows daily as he continues his work in me. God can use anything to reach us. He can also use us to reach others with our stories of transformation and his grace.

Hebrews 12: 1-3 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, ² fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfector of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. ³ Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.

I will continue to seek God and be obedient to his call for my life! I believe there is great freedom in his light. God’s grace is so perfect. I don’t deserve it. Nothing I can do will ever “measure up” enough to earn it, but it doesn’t have too because he gives it to me freely. He loves me (and you) so much that he gave his only son to erase our sin and establish relationship with us. So I throw off everything that hinders and fix my eyes on Jesus – the pioneer and perfector of faith! I’m no longer running away from my past, but I will forever be running to His arms!