Mile Markers

Today my coach sent us out on a fartlek type workout. 

It involved running up a long, flat, go-on-forever country road.

This is how it went:  

There were sign poles along the road. We were supposed to begin at a steady pace. When we hit the next telephone pole, we were supposed to increase are speed. At the next telephone pole, again. And then recover for one telephone pole and start all over again. Make sense? Yeah, it was confusing to us to. The point is- hit a telephone pole, speed up!

We used these "markers" to guide our speed for a solid sixty minute run. 

 

I was thinking about it, and I feel like life has a lot of markers - or in this case, randomly placed telephone poles - that give us direction. They change our pace a little bit. 

This weekend at Generation Unleashed Conference in Portland was one of those mile markers. 

I won't even begin to try to go into detail about everything. There were more significant moments packed into three days than I can even explain. And my life was changed.

And it was more than just a fun weekend away. Although it definitely was fun. I went to Powell's Bookstore and wandered around for hours looking at books. I got absolutely no sleep and drank way too much caffeine. I went to Voodoo Donuts and experienced downtown Portland on a Saturday night.

I bonded with wonderful people and made new friends. 

But most importantly, God showed up in a big way. He made it very clear I'm not supposed to worry about my future. He spoke confirmation to me about so many things. I met amazing people who inspire me to live a faith-filled life. And my perspective shifted.

I talked to so many people and listened to their stories. So many homeless people. So many lost people. So many people from so many different backgrounds. I went outside my comfort zone and outside my agenda. And I opened up my eyes a little bit. 

I'm so filled up with love right now. 

I know it's all kind of nonsense, because summing up a mile marker in life is difficult to do. The point is: When you reach a mile marker in life, you can't keep running along at the same pace. You have to speed up. Something has to change. And something did.