Yay Nancy!!!

Meet my friend Nancy. That's her, in the picture below. She's beautiful, funny, talented, kind-hearted, honest, generous, and truly one of the best people I know. She is one of God's greatest blessings in my life. I'm not really sure how I went for 20 some years of my life without even knowing that she existed, for I often call her my friend soulmate. Nancy has profoundly impacted my life. She has an amazing heart for God, and her love for Him and all those that she meets simply oozes from her. Some people ooze that way in an annoying fashion, but not Nancy! She draws people to her. She has this infectious laugh, and her eyes are always sparkling brightly...sometimes with mischevious thoughts, sometimes with pure joy over something wonderful that is happening in her life or the life of someone around her.

Nancy has overcome some big challenges in her life. She lost her father, she has gone back to school to do what she really wants, and she has recently overcome a big one. Today she ran her first 5K Road Race.

To a lot of people, this might not seem like a big deal, but to Nancy, it was something that she NEVER in her life imagined herself doing. Since about four or five years ago she has lost a lot of weight, completely through hard work. She is amazing, inspiring, and courageous. She doesn't allow herself to back down. If she has a bad day, she shakes it off and keeps on going. She has this absolutely amazing inner strength that I absolutely admire.

As you know, I have recently started running again, and I find myself loving it. Last spring, I got Nancy to try out a bit of running with me. We started out slowly, and she continued to improve. Finally, she decided she would sign up for the Santa Shuffle, a 5K run that benefits the Salvation Army. I said that I would do it with her, but that she had to run the entire thing. I know that she was scared and nervous, but true to her Nancy nature, she would not allow herself to back down. She trained and pushed herself harder than she ever had.

I loved the huge smile on her face when she came to my door to pick me up this morning. She was so excited, and greeting this challenge with the same Nancy Love for Life that she greets everything else with. I couldn't help but get caught up in her enthusiasm, and before we knew it, we were ready for the race to start.

It was cold, and not what some people would consider to be a good day to be outside, although we found it to be gorgeous! There is no better place to do a road run than in Vancouver! It is difficult to find a bad view! We made our way through Stanley Park, and I was impressed. Nancy was keeping up her pace pretty well.

We hit the 3K mark, and she commented, "This is now the furthest I have ever run, in my life." Each step that we were making was history for her, and she faced it with a smile, and one foot in front of the other. As we came around the last bend she exclaimed, "Is that the END?" I said,

"Yes, now it's time to push it." Push it she did...she picked up her pace and powered through the finish line. I am so proud, Nancy...so proud of you. You have another thing to check off of your list of the amazing things that you have accomplished with your life. That 10K is next, and after that, who knows! Yay Nancy! You will never cease to amaze me my friend!