Peachtree Road Race

Happy Fourth of July!

Here in Atlanta, thousands of folks are getting ready for the Peachtree Road Race. It's such a fun event, and it's held on Independence Day each year. Four years ago, I watched it from the sidewalk. Here is a little something I wrote about my experience that day. ... Keep in mind that I was still learning my way around Atlanta, to say the least. LOL! As a matter of fact, I still am!

July 4, 2004

Let me share with you how God has blessed me this morning! Tanna was on call yesterday, and he still is not home yet today (he probably will get off of work this afternoon). And yesterday, I met a man who told me about the Peachtree Road Race (one of the biggest of its length in the world, apparently). Tanna had mentioned it earlier in the week as well, and I thought, "Well, I am not going to try to go anywhere then. I will just stay put." (I did not want to try to get in any sort of madness -- especially by myself.)

Well, I woke up early this morning and thought to myself, "I will walk up there and see what this is all about." I figured I would stand there for a few minutes, maybe grab something to eat or a drink while I was out on the street and then walk back to our place. Oh, and of course, take a picture of the crowd. So I rolled out of bed a little after 7 and was on my way.

So I make my way to Peachtree, and I see some radio station booths and such set up. I walk around for a bit because I got there a little early. People are lining the sides of Peachtree waiting for the runners (though I thought there would be more of a cheering crowd than there was). There is a group from Delta, and they were giving out banner-like signs for people to write on and hold up to cheer the runners on, etc. I get a sign, just before the runners are about to approach our section of the street, and I write, "God bless you!!" on it. I thought I would hold it up for a little while and then go back home and maybe even go back to bed and catch a little nap before Tanna came home from work.

Well ... Praise God! He used that sign to encourage me more than the runners!! You would not believe the people (even the "serious" runners at the beginning of the race) who said (and even yelled from the other side of the street) "THANK YOU!" ... "GOD BLESS YOU, TOO!!" ... "PRAISE THE LORD!!" ... "HE ALREADY HAS!" ... and so on and so forth!! Not to mention the waves and nods and smiles that were extended. One guy came up and wanted to take a picture of the sign! Praise the Lord! The kindnesses and the words that were spoken were so special that it brought tears to my eyes, especially thinking that these people are in the middle of this race in the burning-up heat of Atlanta, and they take a second to connect with me and to Praise the Lord!

God gave me the strength to stand there, holding up the sign until the end of the race (I guess close to two hours, at least an hour and a half I would say)! The sign is a roll-up sign, too--you have to hold it up with both hands or it will roll up on both sides (like a scroll). ANYWAY, I was so encouraged by the runners, and God allowed me to stand there, holding that sign with both hands (sometimes over my head, sometimes at mid-level) until the street was clear. Believe me, that is harder than it sounds for someone who is so out of shape! LOL! But what an encouragement!

I hope everyone is having a wonderful FOURTH OF JULY holiday. MAY GOD BLESS EACH OF YOU the way He has blessed me this morning!!!