Friday, June 24, 2011

Cheering for Others and Asking for Help!

Have you ever just had one of those moments where you know that you are learning something you have said a million times before but for some reason this time the words sink into your soul. I mean really sink into the part of your soul and spirit where you really get it? I had one of those moments this week. I’d like to share.

For a few years now I have been following a friend’s blog. She has been changing both physically and mentally for about the last six or so months. I mean I have seen some really big changes. I wake up in the morning and check her blog first thing because I know what she is writing will be something that I need to hear. I usually end up crying by the time I am done reading her blog. But those tears are the good kind of tears. The ones that are filled with joy and a little envy!

A few weeks ago this friend ran her first ever half marathon. It’s a dream of mine. A REAL DREAM! It’s on my bucket list. Almost every day for the last six months this friend has shared with us , her loyal blog readers about her journey. I have been moved. Moved enough to take some steps. Baby steps, but steps at least.

Running this half marathon did not come easy for my friend. She had injuries and sometimes life just got in the way. LIfe got hard! But as the week right before the race came, this woman gave her last bits of training all she could. She even blogged this week about many parts of the race and what they meet to her. By the end of the race it had become very difficult to run. She had developed a cramp in leg and it was very painful. But here is the part I want to share on my blog. The part where she talks about the end of the race.

“By the time I got to the last 100+ yards, I was completely overcome with emotion. And then, every now and then I'd hear my name. MY NAME.”


“Turns out some of you who I've never met were there (seriously, how cool are you?). And other people who I knew and stood along University Avenue right at the end to cheer me on and see me finish.”


“Something really interesting happens at the end of a race. You are spent and you want to quit. You might even consider stopping. Or walking the last little bit.”


“But, then you hear the cheers. And you cry. And that brings on more cheers.And then there is no way you are not going to finish...and finish strong. It's a pretty amazing feeling.”“I've thought a lot about that.”


"What would happen if every time you were faced with something difficult," I asked, "you could hear the cheers of everyone pulling for you?""What would happen if every time you stood in the face of temptation, all of heaven cheered you through it?""There is NO WAY you wouldn't get yourself to that finish line. There is no way."“It was a message I've never been able to share before in quite that way. Because I had truly never experienced it before in quite that way. It was one of the sweetest moments ever.”


*And here’s the part that just hit me:
“We need to be more encouraging of each other. We need to feel less awkward about acknowledging when something is hard. I wish we would allow ourselves to be more vulnerable so we are more willing to ask for support. And we certainly need to cheer louder and harder than any of the other influences in the lives of those we love.”“There is power in the cheers. And that power pushes us to do things we very well maybe wouldn't do otherwise.”“So...find someone this week to cheer on, will you?”

I really wonder how it would be if we were better cheerleaders for each other. I mean that we really wanted each other to succeed. I believe that we could accomplish greater things in our lives. I believe we would be better friends, daughters, sisters, mothers, wives and companions. I also think often of how it would be if we would ask each other more for help. If we would just acknowledge the fact that sometimes we just can’t do it all. WOW! What a thought! I know I’m trying to ask for help a little more and also be a better cheerleader to those around me!

GO! FIGHT! WIN! You can do it!

4 comments:

Oh, Sweet!... said...

Thanks for sharing that story! I love it! I feel the same way she does. Way to go!!

2pattyesque said...

Can you fly to Utah and say this at our Laurel Mia Maid retreat? :0) Love ya

thoughts of a Wicked Stepmother said...

Ann,
Thank you for sharing this! Thank you.

Kate said...

A person can do so much more under a voice of encouragement than they ever could under a voice of criticism. It's super true, and I love how your friend said it. I am trying to become a runner. Have gone from gasping for breath after running half way around the track to running a 5k here in the next few weeks. Super excited! I want to be a runner!