M
ManVsSin
Guest
Let's go back 2 years into the past. It all started In November of 2015, a year in which I was on the brink of spiritual starvation. It was a year in which I woke up every morning feeling absent from God's presence and going through my day without a single prayer. Everyday was the same as the last, wake up, eat breakfast, go to work, play video games, sleep, and repeat. After awhile of repeating this process I felt like I was slowly dying, physically, spiritually, and emotionally. When you play video games non stop without much excersice, it doesn't take a genius to realize that not only is it very unhealthy to do so, but it destroys your social life as well. Little did I know that God would completely change my life that month and beyond. I was working as a security guard at the time at a community college. I would do my normal round abouts and say my hellos to the staff and people whom I had slowly built a relationship with over the years. The best part about my job was that new students were always enrolling every year which meant more opportunities to share Christ with people. I usually tended to patrol one particular building which was the registration and advising building. This was my favorite building because I could easily strike up a conversation with anyone which made it a great way to kill time to hehe. "Hey there Zacharoo!" Officer Fuentes said. "Hey how's it going? Any calls or bad guys today?" I responded. "Nope same ol same ol" he said with a dull expression. It seemed like he was in my boat, a man who was not only bored, but a man who needed a revival of heart. After conversing with him for several minutes, I made my way to the advisors office where countless students awaited to speak to an advisor about their schedules. Normally people are not aloud to go passed a certain point in the office, but since I was a security guard not only did I know all of the advisors, but I was given special permission to roam the offices. As I made my way down a narrow hallway of offices hearing the chattering coming from all the rooms, I made my way past one office with its door wide open only for me to hear a "hey". I came to a complete standstill and peeked inside the room in which I heard the greeting. To my amazement my jaw dropped to the floor and my eyes sparkled with awe. On the wall I saw medals and bibs from marathons and races that the advisor had done. "Pretty cool Hugh?" He said. "Holy smokes!" I thought to myself. How did I walk by this advisors office and not notice this before. "Wow, this is amazing!" I told him. He than began to show me all his medals from marathons he had ran. He had a medal from marathons like New York and Los Angeles. Still amazed I slowly put my head down in disbelief. "What's wrong?" He asked. "I wish I could do something as cool as run marathons like you", I said in a low voice. Who was I kidding!? I was somebody who played nothing but video games and didn't have a life at all. Sure I had accepted Christ into my life back in 2012, but that doesnt mean you can't venture off the path sometimes. The advisor then had a big grin on his face and yelled, "well of course you can!" "As a matter of fact, there's a marathon at the beach on the 19th that you can register for!" My eyes flared up like the sun upon hearing this. "Oh boooy!" I thought. This can be my chance to finally do something adventurous and challenging for once, other then conquering the beaches of Normandy with my thumbs. "Sign me up!" I said in a confident voice. That same night, all I could think about were the medals on his wall and how maybe someday, I to could have medals on my wall. That night I prayed to God and that he would help ignite my faith again and give me the adventure I was seeking as a man. The funny thing was not only had I never ran a marathon, but the most I had ever ran was 5 miles and a marathon was 26.2 miles. I thought to myself "well how hard can it be to run a marathon, all you do is run" I thought. How wrong I was because let me tell you, it is one of the toughest and most challenging things I have ever done in my life and considering that I have asthma, I didn't expect to get a medal let alone finish one. I remember that day as if it were yesterday. I got up around 3am that morning to eat breakfast and get warmed up before the start of my marathon. The race started at 7am sharp and I was heck of nervous at the starting line. Before I knew it the gun shot off signaling the start of the first annual SPI marathon. I felt adrenaline corsing through my veins as I tried to find a pattern to my breathing. I felt strong and energized as a Duracell battery the first 13 miles of the race, but at mile 18 it was a different story. My body felt crippled and weak like a horse that had been beaten by its jockey waaaaay to much. There was nothing but sand on both sides of me for miles on end. I remember seeing ambulances drive by and helicopters fly by me as I ran on the course. "All I have to do is wave and ask for a ride and it'll be all over", I thought. "No!" I kept telling myself. How could I give up after running 22 miles! There just wasn't anyway I was just going to quit. I remember praying to God asking him to give me the strength to finish. Sure enough, God put a lady who was also running in my path and we ran together and she helped pace me. Eventually I crossed the finish line completing the marathon in a whopping 5 hours and 35 mins. I remember feeling the weight of my medal as it drooped down my neck and the cheering and roaring of the crowd as I approached the finish line. It was a feeling like no other. God did something that day, something spectacular. He made me feel alive again. He made me fall in love with running. Now instead of playing video games he helped me discover something that was not only fun, but healthy. No more countless hours glued to a tv monitor wasting away like a carcass. This, was just the start of God beginning to slowly restore my life back into a relationship with him. 2 weeks after that I ran a marathon in my own city because Hey! Why not? After all, it's where I lived how can you not run a marathon in your own home city? That same year in December after having ran 2 marathons now, I began wanting more. Running marathons was fun and all, but I wanted more God and more adventure. I began wondering if there was such a thing as to where you could join a program to where you could travel, but it would be God focused. My youth pastor then introduced me to a Christian discipleship school in which I now attend today. Before I enrolled in the school my life became very difficult and full of problems and worries. 2016 started and I was in a tough place in my life, because I was scared of joining this school. My family and even some of my friends were against me joining this school saying things like, "God will always be there but it's important to get a degree first." I became disgusted with these responses because my mentality was that God always came first no matter what. Despite being scarred all of 2016, God was with me and blessed me greatly. Valentine's Day of 2016 I ran another marathon because I had no girlfriend and felt lonely and thought that maybe running a marathon would help me feel better and it did and didn't. During spring break of that year God blessed me again and I went to big bend national park in Texas with my youth group. In the summer God blessed me again and I went on my first missions trip to Chiapas Mexico. I would go into more detail about my journeys, but then all of cc would be to full hehe. Then I came to a breaking point in September of 2016. I had finally made the descision to go to the discipleship school which is in Washington state and probably one of the most painful transitions of my life. I had just put down my cat whom I had for 16 years and who was a big part of my childhood. He had a tumor in his ear and he was in an extreme amount of pain. I remember the vet injecting him as I looked into his eyes one last time before he breathed his last. Tears came rolling down my face like boulders and I wept that whole day non stop until my tear ducts could no longer produce tears. My mom at the time was furious with me of having made the descion to go. I cried the week before leaving to Washington after all that had happened that year. All I could remember was stepping onto the plane realizing that I had quit my job as a security guard that paid good. I also gave up a full free ride to school. What was I doing? Here I was boarding a plane to Seattle in order to attend a Christian school in which I had no idea as to whether or not a God wanted me to do this. I am now happy to say that I do not regret my descion. I faced many trials, but ever since 2015 God has continued to pour blessings on me. I am about to finish and graduate from the school in 2017 and I have now ran a total of 4 marathons! Never did I think having been born with asthma, that I'd ever be able to run a marathon let alone 4. To all those reading this I hope that you will find encouragement and put your hope in Jesus Christ. He can help you find your passions and give you purpose and give you your identity. I have been tremendously blessed and thank you to those who have taken the time to read this. God still remembered me even after being saved. He saw me in my distress and came to my aid. For those of you who are saved and feel like God has forgotten about you he hasn't. I know this because God remembered me and I know he will remember you to. Glory to our Lord Jesus Christ forever and ever Amen!