He's used to hand me downs. He's used to being told no. He's used to waiting in line. He's used to things not always going as planned. Our Wes is easy-going and even-kill. He's low maintenance and unassuming.
Quiet and thoughtful, he purposefully gets the job done without needing a lot of supervision. Because he's our middle and that's what middles do. Especially middle-middles.
I especially love the fact that God gave our middle-middle certain features that would naturally make him stand out among the rest of our children. He's the only one with wavy blond hair. He's the only one with blue eyes. He's the only one with lighter skin. Our older two look quite a bit alike, our younger two could pass as twins, but Wes--Wes' features are his and his alone. Just one of God's creative ways of singling out our middle-middle.
I especially love the fact that God gave our middle-middle certain features that would naturally make him stand out among the rest of our children. He's the only one with wavy blond hair. He's the only one with blue eyes. He's the only one with lighter skin. Our older two look quite a bit alike, our younger two could pass as twins, but Wes--Wes' features are his and his alone. Just one of God's creative ways of singling out our middle-middle.
When our family first got into cross-country, the spotlight was naturally on our oldest two. Wes got to run just because we were already there doing it, so why not let him jump in and do it too? But we never really expected it to be his thing.
Yet I'll never forget that day--that day that Wes came out of no-where in a race and surprised us all, charging ahead and throwing off that middle-middle status, making a name for himself in his unassuming, quiet way. I watched on the sidelines, incredulous and dumb-founded, thinking, 'did Wes really just do that?' And before we knew it, it was know longer just Josh and Sophie's sport, it was also Wes' sport.
That was the day we set up and took notice, realizing he had a gift--a gift of running. The day that we noticed he looked a lot like our family's favorite marathon runner:
The day I put my mama foot down and said, 'YOU MAY NEVER CUT YOUR HAIR.' :)
Anyhow, year after year, he ran. Year after year, he improved. We marveled at our middle-middle's noiseless tenacity and his no-fuss race approach. Thoughtless, he just went out there and ran. He set out to do his thing and got it done. End of story. And he had a lot of fun along the way.
Last year when we moved from Louisville to Paducah, I didn't realize how difficult the move was for Wes. Of course I didn't. He's our middle-middle. Middle-middles don't complain. Not only that, with newness comes excitement, so our first couple of months of running with a new team and going to public school was just one big wave of excitement. There was no time to think.
Occasionally, though, Wes would comment, 'I really miss running with our team in Louisville'. At the time, I didn't have enough foresight to read between the lines of that statement.
Last year when we moved from Louisville to Paducah, I didn't realize how difficult the move was for Wes. Of course I didn't. He's our middle-middle. Middle-middles don't complain. Not only that, with newness comes excitement, so our first couple of months of running with a new team and going to public school was just one big wave of excitement. There was no time to think.
Occasionally, though, Wes would comment, 'I really miss running with our team in Louisville'. At the time, I didn't have enough foresight to read between the lines of that statement.
This year, as cross country kicked off, Wes seemed to drag his feet. For the first time in his life, he seemed disinterested in practicing. It wasn't long before we realized that he had lost the spring in his step, the spark in his eye, the zeal. He said to me countless times, 'I'm just not really enjoying running this year.'
It's hard to sit by and watch your child waste what they've been given, waste what their good at. Harder still to watch them not enjoy it. It seemed he was at a crossroads--maybe God had other plans for his life and those plans didn't include running? Maybe he was using this to show us that? Maybe so? Maybe not? So many questions ran through my head.
While we have no idea what God has planned for our middle-middle, God does. While we don't always know what's best for our children, God does. He tells us in James 1:5, 'If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.' We can come to him with any issue, any problem--big or small--and ask Him to give us wisdom. As a parent, I find this Bible verse to be one of the most encouraging of all! Parenting wisdom--oh, I need a large dose of that on a regular basis. Hook up the IV, please!
While we have no idea what God has planned for our middle-middle, God does. While we don't always know what's best for our children, God does. He tells us in James 1:5, 'If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.' We can come to him with any issue, any problem--big or small--and ask Him to give us wisdom. As a parent, I find this Bible verse to be one of the most encouraging of all! Parenting wisdom--oh, I need a large dose of that on a regular basis. Hook up the IV, please!
The wonderful thing about God is that He created us for relationship. He longs for an intimate relationship that involves talking to Him. He wants us to come to Him and ask Him to solve what we can't.
So I took this to Him, asking Him to bring back the glean to Wes' eye, the zeal. To bring about an excitement that he used to have for running. To give us the wisdom to know what he needed.
First, God faithfully brought about conversations with Wes that made us realized that he was missing the buddies he used to run with in Louisville. He was missing the competition they had brought, as well as the camaraderie. We realized that Wes thrives on that competitiveness. He needed a challenge. Without it, running was boring.
God brought to mind a similar situation that a good friend of mine had went through the season before. I remembered she had began praying that God would bring another girl to their cross country team that would challenge her daughter. He had answered that prayer and now her daughter and the new girl on their team were two of the top runners in the state.
So I took this to Him, asking Him to bring back the glean to Wes' eye, the zeal. To bring about an excitement that he used to have for running. To give us the wisdom to know what he needed.
First, God faithfully brought about conversations with Wes that made us realized that he was missing the buddies he used to run with in Louisville. He was missing the competition they had brought, as well as the camaraderie. We realized that Wes thrives on that competitiveness. He needed a challenge. Without it, running was boring.
God brought to mind a similar situation that a good friend of mine had went through the season before. I remembered she had began praying that God would bring another girl to their cross country team that would challenge her daughter. He had answered that prayer and now her daughter and the new girl on their team were two of the top runners in the state.
So, I started praying. Praying that God would bring a teammate into his life that would stir up his passion for running again. That He'd bring someone into Wes' life that would bring back that competitive glean.
God is so faithful. He may not always work the way we expect or want, but if we invite Him to come into the smallest of details in our lives, He always shows up. Always.
One thing God did was bring several strong middle school boys to the team. In every single race, those boys improved. By A LOT. The middle school boys also won several meets as a team. I think God is just getting started with this group and I look forward to seeing these boys continue to improve more and more in the years to come!
God also answered my prayer in a totally unexpected way--through someone not even on our team.
In the fourth race of the season, Wes ran against another sixth grader a few counties over from us. His name was Jonah. Wes had beaten Jonah last year, but this year this boy came out fast and furious. He beat Wes by a good twenty seconds.
And it wasn't long before that glean started coming back.
Wes began looking for upcoming future races he had against Jonah. He began trying harder in practices. He began thinking about racing against Jonah at the cross country state meet. He began setting his mind upon beating him--because that's what boys love to do--beat each other.
The competition was back. And Wes was back.
As the end of the season drew near, I watched him get stronger and stronger. And before we knew it, it was time for state.
The cross country state 'Meet of Champions' began like every other one I can ever remember--cold, windy and cold. It's always ran at Masterson Station Park in Lexington, KY. The course, a large open field of rolling hills, tends to invite and trap the blistery wind.
We had gotten up at 5:00 AM that morning and began the long four hour trek across the state to Lexington. Joshua had been involved in Homecoming the night before, so we had had to wait and leave for the meet the morning of. Because of this, we couldn't get Jeremiah to the meet in time to run in his age group. He really wanted to run anyway, so we put him in the 5th and 6th grade race with Wes.
It seemed like in no time, the fifth and sixth grade boys were lining up on the start line.
There were almost 400 boys in this race--the picture above only shows about 1/3 of the start line.
The boys run straight out and up a hill. Because of the number of kids in this race, it's important that you get out fast. As a spectator, you only see them for a brief moment, as they run over the hill and out of sight. And then you wait for them to come back in view….to see who has claimed the lead. Waiting as a parent during a cross country race can be some of the longest minutes to endure.
They finally came into view and I quickly spotted Wes' hair! Jonah was in first with Wes just a few steps behind him in second. And then there was no one for several seconds. It looked like the battle was going to be between Jonah and Wes, the West KY boys! I wish I had a picture but I was just too in the moment to take any! All I remember about that moment is how red Wes' face was--I had never seen it that red in my life and prayed he was doing okay.
My other mama-friend and I took off running to the next spot where we would be able to see them again. This is fairly close to the finish. It's a good spot to stand cause you can see them for quite awhile running on the course.
Soon, they came into view and Jonah had about an 8-10 second lead over Wes. As we watched them run, for a moment it looked as if Wes might be gaining some ground…but Jonah continued to stay strong. Here they are approaching us, Jonah with a pretty secure first place:
Wes coming by, face as red as can be:
Jonah finished the 3K in 10:37; Wes finished in 10:47. Jonah broke the prior year record. Wes came within a few seconds of doing so.
I was so, so, so happy for these two!
A little bit later, Jeremiah came through the finish:
He finished 123rd, with a time of 13:08! So proud of this little guy too! Proud that he never once complained about having to compete against a bunch of older boys.
When you finish in the top 10, you get to be presented your medals in a special ceremony. Here they are below:
There are some great runners in this crew--Jacob Sutherland for one. And the little dude that got fifth is only a fourth grader (that's crazy!)!
It was a special day to go down in the memory book for our family. A special day for our 'middle-middle' to shine. I love more than anything in the world to watch my kids compete at a sport that they love. And sharing that moment with friends and family--well, there's just nothing quite like it!
These two have struck up a friendship that I'm so grateful for. The friendship that I'll always remember as the one that brought the glean back to my son's eyes. I'm looking forward to watching these two West KY runners push one another over the years to come.
So proud of my 'Middle-Middle'!
One thing God did was bring several strong middle school boys to the team. In every single race, those boys improved. By A LOT. The middle school boys also won several meets as a team. I think God is just getting started with this group and I look forward to seeing these boys continue to improve more and more in the years to come!
God also answered my prayer in a totally unexpected way--through someone not even on our team.
In the fourth race of the season, Wes ran against another sixth grader a few counties over from us. His name was Jonah. Wes had beaten Jonah last year, but this year this boy came out fast and furious. He beat Wes by a good twenty seconds.
And it wasn't long before that glean started coming back.
Wes began looking for upcoming future races he had against Jonah. He began trying harder in practices. He began thinking about racing against Jonah at the cross country state meet. He began setting his mind upon beating him--because that's what boys love to do--beat each other.
The competition was back. And Wes was back.
As the end of the season drew near, I watched him get stronger and stronger. And before we knew it, it was time for state.
The cross country state 'Meet of Champions' began like every other one I can ever remember--cold, windy and cold. It's always ran at Masterson Station Park in Lexington, KY. The course, a large open field of rolling hills, tends to invite and trap the blistery wind.
We had gotten up at 5:00 AM that morning and began the long four hour trek across the state to Lexington. Joshua had been involved in Homecoming the night before, so we had had to wait and leave for the meet the morning of. Because of this, we couldn't get Jeremiah to the meet in time to run in his age group. He really wanted to run anyway, so we put him in the 5th and 6th grade race with Wes.
It seemed like in no time, the fifth and sixth grade boys were lining up on the start line.
 |
| You can see Wes and Jeremiah left of center in this picture, wearing black with white stripes down the side of their shorts, Wes' blonde hair blowing in the wind. |
The boys run straight out and up a hill. Because of the number of kids in this race, it's important that you get out fast. As a spectator, you only see them for a brief moment, as they run over the hill and out of sight. And then you wait for them to come back in view….to see who has claimed the lead. Waiting as a parent during a cross country race can be some of the longest minutes to endure.
They finally came into view and I quickly spotted Wes' hair! Jonah was in first with Wes just a few steps behind him in second. And then there was no one for several seconds. It looked like the battle was going to be between Jonah and Wes, the West KY boys! I wish I had a picture but I was just too in the moment to take any! All I remember about that moment is how red Wes' face was--I had never seen it that red in my life and prayed he was doing okay.
My other mama-friend and I took off running to the next spot where we would be able to see them again. This is fairly close to the finish. It's a good spot to stand cause you can see them for quite awhile running on the course.
Soon, they came into view and Jonah had about an 8-10 second lead over Wes. As we watched them run, for a moment it looked as if Wes might be gaining some ground…but Jonah continued to stay strong. Here they are approaching us, Jonah with a pretty secure first place:
Wes coming by, face as red as can be:
Jonah finished the 3K in 10:37; Wes finished in 10:47. Jonah broke the prior year record. Wes came within a few seconds of doing so.
I was so, so, so happy for these two!
A little bit later, Jeremiah came through the finish:
He finished 123rd, with a time of 13:08! So proud of this little guy too! Proud that he never once complained about having to compete against a bunch of older boys.
When you finish in the top 10, you get to be presented your medals in a special ceremony. Here they are below:
It was a special day to go down in the memory book for our family. A special day for our 'middle-middle' to shine. I love more than anything in the world to watch my kids compete at a sport that they love. And sharing that moment with friends and family--well, there's just nothing quite like it!
These two have struck up a friendship that I'm so grateful for. The friendship that I'll always remember as the one that brought the glean back to my son's eyes. I'm looking forward to watching these two West KY runners push one another over the years to come.
So proud of my 'Middle-Middle'!
No comments:
Post a Comment