The Olympic Trials

I was going to wait to write a blog about the Olympic Trials, but I can't stand it after today.  Quite a while back, Bruce bought 2 tickets to the whole thing.  All nine glorious days of them.  We weren't sure about which kids would be available or which of us would be so we figured 2 tickets would be a good number. It has been. I could go on and on about all the cool things that we've seen, but I will talk about today, for now.  Today we actually bought extra tickets because it was the final of the 5k and the men's Steeple, both events that Dudley Distance geeks love!

 As it happened today, Megan is gone, so the boys and us went down and met up with Taylor, a Whitworth teammate.  We got there early to look around and Bruce and I grabbed a table by the main stage.  As luck would have it, they interview Madeline Manning (one of my heroes) and Mac Wilkens and also Roger Kingdom.  Very cool.  I snapped a pic on my phone.  We sit there some more and then Bruce says, "There's your girl."  I look and Madeline Manning is standing 20 feet from us.

 Now, let me back up... to 1980.  I was fortunate enough to come to the Trials in 1980 with my aunt and sister and cousin.  We had a blast, it was so fun for this farm kid/runner to witness all the awesome runners.  At that time, we happened upon one Madeline Manning, sporting an awesome afro... I had watched her race and knew she was a wicked fast 800 meter runner, so I walked over for an autograph.  She was so kind back then and talked to me, I don't remember much, but she signed my paper.  When I looked down at it afterward, it said "Madeline Manning, Running for Jesus."  I have a very clear memory of thinking, "Wow, she loves Jesus and she is telling everyone."  At that point in my life, I knew all about Jesus and God and all that, but I hadn't really made any decision to follow Him.  That, as I look back, was one of the many ways God pursued me.


Today I had the opportunity to tell her that.  I briefly said that I had met her in 1980 and she'd signed that autograph and shortly after I'd decided to follow Jesus.  At that point, she hugged me.  It was a really cool moment in my life.  Honestly, I have thought about her quite a bit.  It was just one of those things.  I do love how God works.

I know that I'll see other cool things during the Trials, but I feel like this is the one that God had for me.  Thanks.  Great day.