It is about the journey, not just the finish line.

I was into my 15th mile yesterday morning when a woman one the sideline had a cardboard poster board that read, "Today you will finish a marathon!"
She cheered and yelled louder for folks in the green bibs (me!) as it was their first time running Detroit or first marathon ever.
When I ran by here we made eye contact and she hollered at me, "GIRL. You are gonna finish a marathon today!"
That is when it hit me.  I am going to finish and I started to cry. It hit me in that moment (no matter the weather!) I was going to finish my first marathon. TODAY.

I have spent more than half of my life not feeling comfortable in my own skin, wishing I was someone else. Don't even get me started how I felt about my own body.
I spent most of my 20's comparing myself to others and believing lies about me from the time I was a little girl.
I was horribly insecure and hid it well behind a big smile and loud mouth personality.
I have told myself for many years "I can't do that, it's too hard."
And when faced with the hardest situation of my life I knew I was going to not just survive but I was going to thrive.
Running has become a very emotionally and spiritually healing tool in my life. 
Yesterday was about so much more than just crossing the finish line.
It was about the journey that brought me there. 
And I would not trade that journey for anything in my life.
I am certainly not grateful it all happened. But I am 100% grateful for what it has taught me about myself as a woman.
I carried and prayed for so many people and situations yesterday on the road: my godchildren, my immediate family, personal situations, my aunt battling cancer again, all my Blessed Is She sisters (especially the BIS Team!!), friends, and my own future.
When I turned the corner and saw the 25 mile marker I started choking up again. 
I ripped those earbuds out and soaked up every step of that tiring final mile. I recalled the faces and names I most carried in my heart and thanked God for this opportunity.
After I crossed the finish line, I leaned over and just started weeping. 
Sure I was grateful to be done running, but even more grateful what this journey represents to me in a new phase of life.
We can do hard things in life.
We are not responsible for what happens to us, but we are responsible for how we choose to respond to it.
My first 26.2 is not just about a medal.
It represents a change of heart, a change in how I look at life and myself.
Your finish line may look different than mine. But the journey is still the same.
Because all of us can do hard things in this life.