two are better than one

Abby and Jens- 

Let me introduce you to one of my best friends... 

Her name is Elizabeth, and you need to know her as she will be logging a lot of these miles with me for training. So even if she does not know it yet, she's on the Run4Jens team too. 

Today we both set out on a beautiful afternoon for 8 miles of running with the sun dappling its light on us the whole way.  In this picture below, we had stopped at a market for a pit stop along the way, and I just had to snap this picture in front of the market because the sun was too good to not capture it.  I am sharing it here as it totally shows the joy on my face being outside with this amazing friend of mine today.  After Elizabeth had been up all night last night delivering a baby (she's a family practice doctor), she came home to crash for an hour to sleep and then she texted me to go for a run later this afternoon since we both know that running is the one of the best reset buttons we know. 

Let me tell you another thing about Elizabeth.  She is the type of friend you want with you when you have 26.2 miles ahead of you. She ran the Portland Marathon with me last fall helping me finish strong and helping me to keep a solid pace the whole time. She's a much better runner than I am (she ran in college and she also was sponsored by Brooks for a number of years!) and yet she chose to give me the gift of running alongside me. When I recently relayed the story about Elizabeth running this race with me, the friend with whom I was sharing got teary imagining it. And when I told Elizabeth that this act of sacrifice and friendship brought tears to someone's eyes, she said it was not really a sacrifice at all and that she loved it.  (There really are not many people I know who can say that running 26.2 miles is not a sacrifice.) 

When I run with her, I am a better runner. I always run faster with her, but the catch is that it just seems easier when I am with her to pick up the pace than when I am by myself.  And while I was running today with her, I thought of this verse: 

9Two people are better off than one, for they can help each other succeed. 10If one person falls, the other can reach out and help. But someone who falls alone is in real trouble. Ecclesiastes 4:9-10 NLT

As I ran, I thought about how this rings true for you that TWO ARE BETTER THAN ONE.  

It is so much better to go through something scary and risky when you have a hand to hold. 

It is so much better to run the race when you have someone who can run alongside you to encourage you and pace you and give you reason to carry on. 

It is so much better to have someone to cry with, to laugh with, to share the mystery of life with... 

You both have each other in this. And that is so very very good. TWO ARE BETTER THAN ONE. I am giving thanks that God gave you to one another and that you all will be there for each other with the marathon ahead that sometimes may feel too long.