For as long as I can remember I have wanted to be a runner. Thoughts would constantly fill my mind of being on the "open road," shoes pounding the pavement in sync with the beating of your heart as you keep your eyes ahead... It's just you and your thoughts... and God.
I, however, was never athletic. I was a smoker... so this dream I had of running would likely not become a reality.
Even after I began following Jesus I was a closet smoker.
Even after I began working for the church I still kept my dirty secret.
You know what I am talking about- always carrying a bottle of Febreeze in the car, perfume, and antibacterial handsoap in the purse. I would speed away from church and once I got outside of a 2 mile radius I would light up... and feel... disgusted.
I wanted to change the way I lived my life and the way I valued my body. I prayed to Jesus to take away my addiction and one day He did just that. One day I attempted to light up and was physically ill. I continued to try and literally could not smoke without getting sick afterwards. After 10 years of smoking I was done. Just like that.
Fast forward to 2007 and I had just moved to the Dominican Republic excited about the next chapter of my journey with God. He had called me to serve His people through love and with the mission of G.O. Ministries bringing peace and hope to those in the DR & Haiti.
I began walking in an effort to get healthy, and then I began jogging... 7 loops at a small walking park to be exact and everytime I was done I thought I might die. But I didn't and I kept at it, eventually running.
It became a passion. A way to clear my mind and get right with God. A time to pray. A time meditate. A time to praise God for His miracle of life and the heart He had given me for my Dominican and Haitian brothers and sisters in Hispaniola. I ran for His Glory.
Today I am still running for His glory and I am using this passion as a way to tell the stories of those in search of hope and healing in the DR and Haiti. I am using this passion to raise awareness and funds to the work my husband and I are called to do here on this island.
I am forever grateful for that prayer God answered many years ago, removing the sin (not of smoking, but of not treating my body as the Holy Temple of God that it is) and replacing it with a passion for His glory.
Will you join me?
Together we will make a difference.
Jackie
