The Reason I Run

    Our lives are characterized by milestones that mark our journey in life altering events. Besides birth and death, they usually include turning 18, getting our first vehicle, graduation, marriage, having a child, etc.

     Unfortunately, we celebrate the obvious, and tend to overlook the events that changed our lives without a monumental marker. Unless, of course, we take the time to look back and reflect on the change, as well as the impact it had on ourselves and others. In reflecting on my most recent milestone, I also discovered

                                                         THE REASON I RUN.

    It all began over a year ago, sitting in my living room filled with teenage girls. We were discussing setting goals, when my friend and I both discovered we had a desire to run a marathon.
We set a date and completed our first half marathon a few months later.

  Our "practice runs" every week, turned into mini therapy sessions, where we met together to solve the problems of the world! We laughed, we cried, we prayed for so many people as we ran hundreds of miles last year. So, we set another goal to run the Disney Princess Half Marathon in Walt Disney World.

   Within the 26,000 runners, a smaller team assembled. Organized by Abolition International and the JOYFM radio station, Team Freedom raised it's banner to run for those who are not Free To Run (Yet)!

                                                          TEAM FREEDOM

    In keeping with my heart's cry to abolish modern day slavery, Abolition International also exists to fight Human Trafficking. Along with the 200 runners on Team Freedom, we raised over $72,000 to help expand a shelter for girls rescued from sex slavery. We knew from the beginning this was a cause greater than ourselves. But, I never knew the whole, life altering impact it would have.

                                                                              

                                                       PRINCESS FOR A DAY

    I have to admit I have a Fairy Tale mentality (and my castle-looking house doesn't hurt), and running in a marathon where I get to dress like a Princess was a win-win event in my book!
So, my best friend, my daughter-in-law, my niece and I all picked a Disney Princess to portray as we ran 13.1 miles. I chose Belle! Beauty and the Beast has been one of my favorite Fairy Tales for as long as I can remember. Maybe, the fact that she loses her father, or that she can see the best in the "unlovely" resonated with my soul.

                                                              BEAUTIFUL

     Belle means "Beautiful". A word that, like many women, I have had a hard time using as a description to identify myself.  Beautiful! The defining factor that set Esther apart from all the other young women and landed a crown upon her head! I love the story of Esther, as controversial as it is. I've read every book and bible study on her that I could. That is why, a few months ago, I looked up the Jewish calender and saw that the Feast of Purim was to be celebrated the same weekend that we would be running in the Disney Princess Half Marathon!

    As I sat in a room with the other members of Team Freedom listening to stories of girls that were rescued from Human Trafficking, we cried, we cheered, we prayed to rescue those who were still held in captivity. I knew this was a task that called for collaboration and unity. As Queen Esther called for fasting and prayer, this battle for freedom from captivity calls for that as well! And as I prepared myself to run, I placed a crown upon my head, reflecting on the words of Mordecai:

"Who knows but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this?" (Esther 4:14)

 As I ran for those who are not yet free to run, I felt beautiful, because I knew that fighting for their freedom was what I was created to do! My best friend, who not only prays and runs the journey with me gave me a symbolic card which ended with these words,

 "Falling in love - with who you were meant to be.
    I was Born to do this."
 
     And that is the reason I run!

Overwhelmed

           I stood at the back of the room as my friend Marlene recounted to the standing-room-only crowd, one of the many life altering experiences we once shared at a Human Trafficking conference.

       The bile rose to the top of my throat as vivid memories of the depravity of man filled my mind. She comforted the audience (and myself) by promising not to expound on the stories that truly kept us from sleeping and eating for days after the conference. Her point was to awaken a passion in a world that can sometimes be overwhelmed by a need, or desensitized by a self-gratifying, media-driven society.

      She confessed, that at that moment, she couldn't take anymore. Overwhelming odds and numerous examples of "movie-caliber" true stories washed over us like tsunami sized waves.
How could we possibly make a difference?
  
     Then, to my surprise, she credited me for snapping her out of  her compassion induced stupor. I recounted one of my favorite anecdotes, "The Starfish Story," in which a young girl on a beach littered with starfish from the previous nights storm, gently tosses them back into the water. An elderly man, after watching a while, challenges her with the multitude of starfish on the beach, how could her efforts possibly make a difference?

            The girl, bending to pick up another starfish, answers as she tosses it into the ocean,

                                               IT MATTERS TO THAT ONE

    "It matters to that one!" That statement drives the passion within us to keep fighting the fight. Her reminder echoed through my soul as I contemplated so many stories from my recent trip to Guatemala. So many needs, so much pain and hurt and injustice...how can we possibly make a difference? The same thought resounded over and over from many of my new friends on the trip.
From the "treasures" in the city dump, to the orphans and malnourished babies, from the mischievous teens with cerebral palsy to the inspiring viejitos, there must be more that we can do?

                                                Be A Voice For The Voiceless

     I am an advocate because girls, many between the ages of 12-14, can't speak for themselves because they are being held captive in the sex trade.

     I sponsor a child from a third world country that didn't have the opportunities my son had growing up.

     I leave my comfort zone from time to time so that I don't become immune to a hurting world.

    I  plan to share some stories my friends are writing about - great organizations out there that give you and me a chance to be the change.

    I'd love to hear from you too, what "Starfish" are you making a difference for?

I HOPE YOU DANCE!

   A country crossover song by LeeAnn Womack became a music sensation when my son was in High School. The accompanying music video portrayed a mother imparting learned wisdom to her young children. With many life experiences already under my belt, and the knowledge of shattered dreams and broken promises, I encouraged my son with these words in his Senior Yearbook:

                     "There is a time for everything,
                       and a season for every activity under the heavens;

                       a time to weep and a time to laugh,
                       a time to mourn and a time to dance."
                                                              (Eccl. 3:1,4)

                                 I Hope You Dance!

  Little did I know that in just a couple of years we would be struggling through one of those seasons as my husband battled cancer. What should have been a fun-filled season in my son's life was interrupted as he left college to come and be with us. The impact of facing mortality radically changed many of his life goals. He made a decision soon after that the young woman who stood beside him sharing this painful time was the woman he wanted beside him to share the rest of his life!

  Less than a year after my husband passed away, my son entered a new season of his life and married the woman he knew would be there no matter what. At the reception he took my hands and reminded me of the words I wrote in his yearbook. As he brushed away my tears, the song for our mother-son dance began; LeeAnn Womack singing "I Hope You Dance"

  We have both faced more trials and seasons of heartache as well as laughter, as everyone will throughout their lives, but this past week I came face to face with the underlying message that I tried to impart. I was visiting a Senior Citizen's home with a group in Guatemala. As we struggled through the language barrier trying to carry on some semblance of conversation I hit a cord of commonality with a new found friend in his 80's. Jorge and I both enjoyed dancing! This turned into a frantic plea to find music. No radios were to be found. Finally, thank God for technology, someone whipped out their phone and the fiesta began.
                                                                                                             
                                               Jorge and I danced & danced!

  We tried to encourage others to join us. My exuberant partner wanted everyone to share in this momentary joy that interrupted their bleak afternoon. I don't know if I have ever seen such willingness to shake off life's struggles and replace it with laughter as I did in Jorge that afternoon. He reminded me that we have a choice, we all face sickness, loneliness, heartache, trials of every kind, yes, sometimes even death, but through it all we can still choose to pick ourselves back up, and meet the next season in our lives with the exuberance and fight to find music ....

  Because it really doesn't really matter if you are a senior in High School or a Senior Citizen

                                            There is a time for everything,
                                             and a season for every activity under the heavens;

                                            a time to weep and a time to laugh,
                                            a time to mourn and a time to dance."
                                                                                    (Eccl. 3:1,4)

                                               And I Hope You Dance!

Love,

Pazazdance

Recapturing Dreams

                  I just returned from visiting my past and it hurt.


     A friend accompanied me to an old house that held memories, and heartache and treasures that I didn't have the emotional strength to deal with several years ago. As the memories slowly filtered past my soul like silken cobwebs we walked through, I discovered something even more heartbreaking...

     I just went to the shelves to find some old How to Learn Spanish books that I wanted to review before an upcoming trip. I didn't plan to come face to face with journals of hope and fragments of dreams left gathering dust along with the books of all the projects I had left undone when I walked away from the house I spent so much time on.
 
    The true awakening came as a  paper fluttered softly to the floor. It was a story I had started many years before, handwritten like so many things I had penned. Where had that woman gone? The one who once wrote so passionately? Who journaled without fear of the words that flowed out? Did she die with the man that she was married to for so long? Where was the unrestrained desire to create, no matter what the cost or the hour?

   I left undone. I had gifts that God had given me and I had abandoned them along with books and clothes and dishes from another life. It is time to wake-up and recapture the dreams that once burned so deeply within me. I haven't lost the desire, it was just packed away with wounds that refused to heal, like they were intertwined. But now, now is the time to pack away yesterday and close the boxes of the past & write the dreams of my new life with fresh ink!

  What has died in you? What have you left undone? Today is a new day, pursue the dreams that once burned deep within you! It's not too late...

  Recapture those dreams before another year passes!

Love,

Pazazdance

A New Start ... Again???

          
     This time of year always cracks me up! People vow to change & keep the same New Year's Resolutions they made last year, again! Someone commented yesterday that this was the first time people had read their bibles consecutively for 7 days in a row since last January!  Not me, I was just finishing up my advent Bible reading plan  ;-)
                                                       What?
     So, it took me a little longer than most, it was the first thing I finished this year.
                              (New Year's Resolution #5: Finish what I start.)

The gyms are filled morning and evening, church attendance is up & dessert sales are down!
But, as with every year, that usually only lasts a month or so.

Whatever your resolutions are, they usually involve becoming a better "you". I have tried every year & usually fail miserably. I am pretty good at keeping short & sweet goals; "run to that tree"(instead of "lose 5 pounds"),  "pick up one thing" (instead of "clean the whole house"), "reply to one e-mail" (instead of "have a nervous breakdown"). You get the picture ...

  
 But this year it's different, I really am going to change, because I figured out the secret...

Instead of focusing on changing "Me", focus on being the change I want to see. I  keep hearing the repeated message "if you lead, others will follow". We've all heard the concept before, but are we doing it?

For example, the most challenging goal I've ever set is "to Change The World"

 But how do you break that down into bite-size, mini-goals? One week, one day, one act at a time! So that is what I am doing setting realistic, reachable "short & sweet" (literally) goals to change the world! (Join an outreach at church, feed the homeless, spread awareness on a personal passion, make someone smile!) This is one we can all make & keep!

  All day long, I have been singing a song that resounds from my childhood, "Let there be peace on Earth, and let it begin with Me", yet in my mind, it changes to "Let there be CHANGE on earth, and let it begin with me!"  I am making realistic goals to change the world, one day at a time, one life at a time , and maybe, just maybe, we can help someone else have ~

A NEW START, Again!


Love,
Pazazdance!