Race Day
It’s 6:30am, Saturday, January 28th. It’s almost surreal that this day is finally here. I haven’t slept more than a few hours a night in over a week. My stomach is behaving badly and I can hardly put two thoughts together and make them come out of my mouth correctly. As I’ve reflected back over the planning I realized it’s not the stuff that had to be done that stressed me out, it was my emotional investment. Money is the only obstacle left between me…and my daughter….well, that and a whole lot of ocean. Haha!
I wish I had been writing down every amazing God story throughout this entire journey. I’m sure I’ll slowly recall them one by one but here are a few:
One of my responsibilities for the race was to request donations of 300 bottles of water, 300 bananas, and 300 baked items such as bagels, muffins, and pastries for the runners. What I didn’t realize was that I needed to put my request in to the grocery stores about a month in advance so they could get corporate approval. Instead, I put in my request ten days before the race. Only two stores gave me any sort of answer. The first store told me I could come pick up a $25 gift card and use it to buy the bananas we needed. The boys and I grabbed a grocery cart, picked up the gift card at customer service and headed for the produce department. We counted the bananas and decided to put 100 in the cart. The boys unloaded them onto the belt at the register and as the total kept climbing I looked at the boys and said, We’re going to go over. The cashier and the young man bagging the bananas knew the amount on the gift card and heard my quiet remark to the boys. She weighed the last bunch of bananas. My total was twenty-five dollars and seventeen cents! One hundred bananas for $25!
The second store said the best they could do was give us a 40 pound case. I knew 40 pounds would be a little over a hundred bananas. That would still leave us a hundred bananas short.
God would work it out.
I arrived at the store, request the right manager and out walks a tall skinny man carrying a case of bananas. He loaded them in my cart and with a smile said, Are these all you needed?
I smiled, thanked him, and told him we’d purchase the rest of what we needed. He said, If you need more just come with me! We followed him back to the produce department where he loaded us up with another case and a half of bananas, gave the boys each a plantain and told us how to cook them. We followed him over to the floral department where he asked the boys about our race and they shared with him about their sister. He gave them each a balloon.
300 bananas.
There’s so much more! I’ll be back!
I praise you God for your sovereign hand resting upon us and our big event. We give You all the glory!
…more to come.
~audrey