'But God'

  Training for anything in life takes time and dedication. Running is no different. While I may not be a professional athlete, it was a goal of mine to reach the high ability and potential of a runner I had been gifted with. That meant putting in miles upon miles in every condition possible, including watching my nutrition intake, but also trying to push my body to its limits. I also always said I never wanted to run a marathon. Ever. I was an 800 and mile guy in track and that was a huge jump. Until one day I knew I needed to challenge myself. You see, if I was going to run a marathon it wasn’t just going to be for the sake of running one and checking it off the bucket list. I wanted to be competitive and see what I could accomplish. So I set my sights on Boston. Boston is a unique race in that not just anyone can register and run. You have to qualify, meeting a standard that is set by the Boston Athletics Association. This makes the race truly an elite one and is the most sought-...

  Preface...   Jerry and I have both been previously married. I did not marry Jerry until after I was 30 years old. He had one daughter with his previous wife, but she wasn't in his life at that time, and I had no biological children when we married. Because of both of our pasts (Jerry being abused and me being molested), we decided that when we began having children, we would never allow them to be babysat, not even by family. This one decision became a commitment and a huge sacrifice as well, because only one of us could work at a time, so the other would always be home, and our income would reflect this. But the Lord gave me a dream that eventually changed things for us for many years.     Our Story...   I was an Advertising Manager for a Newspaper in Cambria, California, when my husband and I first met and married. He was working 2 jobs himself. 1 full-time and 1 part-time to make ends meet. We had our first child just over nine months after we got married...