ann kiemel

the 2012 olympics are officially over.
always, the summer olympics wrap up
with the men's and women's marathons.
obviously, my very favorite part, though i
watched all the events with wonder and amazement.

i had been downstairs, cleaning,
when i ran upstairs to see if the men's
marathon had started...only to see that
the runners were already 11 miles down
the course. a ugandan and two kenyans
were leading the pack. not a surprise.

suddenly, the cameras switched to ryan hall,
the fastest runner on the american team. he
was at the side of the road, forced to quit
because of some hamstring problems that
had developed as he ran. obviously, he
appeared extremely disappointed. as ANY
runner would be. none of us even consider
the thought of ever dropping out. we count
on blood and guts to the end, no matter what!
as i stood there, i grieved with ryan, though i
didn't know him.

today,
my dear friend, rob moritz,
emailed me some background on ryan.
he and his wife are both world-class runners.
ryan finished third and fourth in a couple of boston
marathons. not shabby!!! he also has the fastest
american record for the half-marathon, and has
NEVER dropped out of a race in his entire career.
he and his wife, sara, are strong believers. please
pray for them today.

life is a battle.
the enemy slugs us at every turn,
and events happen to us that we can't
possibly understand in view of God and
His vast love.

i only know this:
Jesus reigns.
He never takes away.
He works good out of EVERYTHING
if we love Him.
He builds mountains out of flat, dry
ground. calms the oceans and someway,
somehow, always sees us through.

ryan and sara,
i believe you will laugh again.
that the dream has to die before it can
live, but it WILL live. that your sunrise
is coming. i believe. i believe.