The race is over!

The Chosen Marathon for Adoption was yesterday!  As an adoptive family, the experience of being part of this race was amazing.  When we learned of this months ago, we debated and prayed about participating...on the one hand, we are runners and running in a race to both raise adoption awareness and to raise money for our adoption made sense.  On the other hand, as someone who sometimes struggles with accepting help from others, we debated getting others involved in the adoption in this way.  In the end, we decided this was a great way to use a hobby (and passion, in my case) of ours to educate and get others involved in an even bigger passion... our passion for the children in the world without a family! 

Now that the race is over, I think I can honestly say that this race was an amazing experience!  As a runner, I usually walk away from races with a runner's "high" but yesterday's experience was different.  My high was not about what I accomplished (although I will proudly tell you that I came in 1st place in my age 30-39 age group for the full marathon) or about being proud of Brent for completing his 2nd half marathon, which is no small feat.  My high is about everything else this race was about.  The race raised $150,000 to help adoptive families afford the high costs of completing an adoption.  The race gave me a chance to see other adoptive families and hear about the passions of others who are adopting.  I saw many volunteers very sacrificially give their time to support the race as a whole and our family personally in our adoption journey.  And, Brent and I experienced the support of our friends and family in an amazing way.  I know that many special people in our lives love the child who will soon be a part of our family, even though none of us know who he or she is yet.  The generous donations of our friends and family have raised more than $3500 so far toward our adoption.  Also, five of our friends: Joel Verinder, Allison Parker, Gene Wilkes, Mark Housewright, and David Morales, took the time and energy to train and then travel to run with us on this special day.  We feel very loved and supported.

As I ran toward the finish line after running 26.2 miles, the street was lined with large posters with photos of adopted children, reminding all of us of why we were running.  Seeing the faces of those children and receieving a unique finisher's medal (a bracelet made by children in a Haitian orphanage) gave new meaning to why I was running.  This race was not about me or Brent, it was about all of the children in the world who need a family and about the chance to be a part of something that is taking a small step toward helping give a family to some of those children. 

 People wrote messages about why they were running on these posters, which were

 displayed at the race!

 Dinner out with Allison and Clay Parker and Baby Deacon the night before the race. 

We stayed with Mark Houswright.  David Morales, a friend we havent seen in a few years, travelled from Corpus to run with us!  It was great to see him.  

 Getting ready to run the morning of the race.  Our pastor, Gene Wilkes, travelled to run with us. We appreciate the sacrifice of his time and energy on a busy weekend! 

 Team Bowen! Ready to run at 7:00 am.  Left to right:Brent Bowen, Mark Housewright, Gene Wilkes, Ann-Marie Bowen, Allison Parker, Joel Verinder.  David Morales was there, but we couldnt find him in time for the picture!

 After the race: Gene and Mark waited with Brent for me to finish the full marathon after they ran the half. 

 Getting my trophy for winning 1st place in my division.  I can't wait to tell the story of this race to our child one day!

Ramblings about Life, Running, Adoption, and other Deep Thoughts

Hebrews 12:1-3 "...let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith... so that you will not grow weary and lose heart."

I did a 22 mile training run this morning as part of my training for the marathon for adoption (http://www.chosenmarathonforadoption.com/) that we are running at the end of the month.  For me, long runs, alone tend to lend themselves to deep thoughts. This morning, while running for 3 hours and 22 minutes, I spend a lot of time thinking about why I'm running, what it has to do with the adoption adventure we are experiencing, and how that relates to life in general.

Today's run was rough on me... not just because it was 22 miles long, but because the weather was less than ideal (38 mph winds, 88% humidity, 73 degrees...any runner will tell you this is not ideal running weather).  So, today's run was a test of endurance and perseverance for me.  As I ran, I thought about how life really is an endurance race.  Sometimes the race of life means working hard over time, other times the race means waiting patiently over time.  I've never been great at either.  I want what I want when I want it.  While I think this is true of most of us, growth means working through this.  And, for me, joy and peace come as I surrender this desire. 

This is one of the biggest things running has taught me.  God has used long distance running to help me learn endurance, perseverance, and taking life "one step at a time."  I can't start a marathon focusing on mile 26 or I wont take the 1st step... it will be too overwhelming.  And, this same attitude is the one that I must have as I approach anything big in life. 

So, how does adoption fit into this? Its a long road. Right now, I am having to persevere in waiting patiently for the news that we can travel to meet a child who I feel bonded to, despite the fact that I know nothing about this child.   Waiting is hard.  It is hard on the whole family.  Dylan asks regularly, "Can we go meet the orphan today?"  Maddie had a bad dream the other night that someone else took her brother or sister in Russia.  My human nature that wants things in my time wants to know when the next step is so I can plan accordingly.  But, just as I must approach a long distance run one step at a time, I must face this journey toward our child in Russia one day at a time.  Its a hard lesson to learn but one worth challenging myself with.  God's promise is that I fix my eyes on Jesus and His plan each step of the way, I will not grow weary or lose heart.