"I lift up my eyes to the hills-- where does my help come from? My help comes from the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth." Psalm 121:1
When the alarm went off at 3:45 a.m. last Sunday morning, various emotions immediately awoke with me. In my thoughts, excitement was battling with nervousness, as anxiety competed to overtake both of them while I prepared to walk in the Detroit Free Press International Half Marathon for Team World Vision.
Rejoicing that the rain had ended, we were greeted by the cool temperatures and warm smiles from fellow teammates as we arrived to the World Vision tent.
One of the pastors led a touching devotion that was a continuation of the weekend’s focus on Romans 12:12, which states, “Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.” He also reminded us to not lose sight of the reason we were there and that every mile had a child’s name. After singing two extremely touching worship songs, the entire team walked together to the starting line.
With 24,000 participants lined up by marathon/half marathon entry speeds, it took almost 30 minutes before we arrived at the actual starting line. My heart raced as the announcer started the countdown, and as soon as he shouted, “GO”, the journey began.
With adrenalin racing through our bodies, we followed the sea of people toward the Ambassador Bridge, with everyone moving at their own respectful speeds. With each of us healing from knee and/or hamstring issues, Ken and I were just thrilled that God brought us this far. However, with only one mile under our belts, Ken was so caught up in the moment, that he didn’t notice a large pothole in the road and placed his right foot directly into the crater that had formed in the concrete. That ankle has always been known to be weak due to a history of three previously broken ankles throughout his life, so it truly was a miracle that he didn't reinjure it. He was able to resume walking. However, my immediate response after that episode was to keep my eyes staring at the ground, in hopes to help warn Ken of any approaching hazards.
As a result, there were many beautiful sights that I absolutely missed because I was focusing on the ground. The attached photo, taken by Mrs. Lancaster, is the spectacular sunrise that occurred on that day. Many participants enjoyed seeing this, yet I totally missed it because I was looking at the ground. There were numerous St. Matthew spectators cheering for us, yet I missed most of them too, because I was focusing on the path! When we entered into Canada, there were so many spectators lining the streets. They were all so kind and encouraging. Yet it wasn’t until one sweet woman yelled, “Don’t forget to look across the water at your city's beautiful skyline” that I finally looked up and saw the most beautiful scenery as the sun was just perfectly reflecting off the Renaissance Center! Had she not mentioned to “look up”, I would have totally missed this as well. So often, I was too focused on completing (and surviving?) the task that I almost missed the beauty in the journey.
This school year, we have an ambitious list of goals and objectives that we need to accomplish, but we also want to “look up” and see the beauty in the journey throughout the entire school year. Each day is a gift filled with abundant blessings from God that we want to make sure that we acknowledge and enjoy.
In addition, we want to make sure that we always “look up” and keep our eyes on Jesus throughout this school year, knowing that He is ultimately the one in control of all and can help us persevere through any situation.
As we near completion of the first quarter of the 2023/2024 school year, we are in awe of all that has been achieved, and we give God the glory for all of these accomplishments. As we continue this awesome school year, make sure you enjoy the journey, and don’t forget to look up!
In His Love,
Mrs. Palka