Hello everyone!! As most of you know I’ve been in Gainesville, GA for the past week and a half for training. It’s been such a emotional rollercoaster, there are so many highs, but also so many lows. But I won’t get into all of that specifically right now. I actually wanted to come on and tell y’all about the fitness hike I was required to complete. So the fitness hike is a 2.2 mile hike that you must complete in 38 minutes, with all of your gear that weighs around 30-40 pounds. It was genuinely the hardest thing I’ve ever done mentally, physically, and spiritually.
Because I tore my knee back in March of 2019, I completely lost confidence in my physical ability to do hard things. I went into this hike thinking, “I’ll try, but I honestly don’t believe that I can do it.” And I was right. I can’t do it on my own. One of my coaches Karen, hiked with me. She made sure I drank and kept walking. At some point a mentor named Matt joined us and was also key in keeping me going. Right before I walked up this massive hill called the Death Hill I fell. My knee just completely gave out on me. I almost stayed down. But Karen and Matt literally picked me up off the ground and then prayed for me. I think that it was the turning point for me. I started to think, “Not only do these two people have my back, but God also has me. I can finish this.” So I held Karen and Matt’s hands and kept going.
I finished the hike without any time to spare. And I can say without a doubt that my own strength was not sufficient enough to carry me through that. It was God, He carried me. I also realized one of the reasons why I’m here in Georgia, training to go out and spread the Word of God. I’m here to learn to rely on not only God, but other people. For me, it’s a whole lot easier to rely on God because I know He will never fail me. It’s so much harder for me to trust and rely on people because I know that they will fail me. But it’s something I’ve become very aware of and I’m going to be working on that while I’m here and probably after I leave this place.
Thank you for taking time to read this word vomit, it was something on my heart that I felt the need to share. From now on I’ll try to update weekly, most likely about what I’ve been learning or what God has been telling me. Thank you again! Love you all!!
Oh, Precious Gracie! You are so amazing! Yes, God definitely was with you and so were your friends. You gave me a happy tear. Thank you for that beautiful update. GO GRACIE!!
I’ve been thinking a lot about you since you’ve been gone. I didn’t realize you would be sleeping in a tent! I’ve got a whole new appreciation for you!