In late October of 2015, I embarked on a special trip to Tomar Park in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. With forty-degree weather and pelting rain, I could not believe the strength of the runners before me, completing the fast endurance workout, making the feat look simple at the same time. I shivered off to the side and brushed the wet wisps of hair behind my ears, observing the run as a prospective cross country recruit for Augustana University.

One year later, I attended the same workout in the same location. Yet this time, my role was that of a participant, not an observer.

I rounded the final corner to the finish. My coaches stood, about a hundred meters away, cheering enthusiastically for my teammates and I to expend our last bits of energy in the last moments of the workout.

I had just run three miles. I had just run a very fast three miles, I was drained of the ability to sprint, and yet, something inside of me clicked. I was not only running for a time, for a place, or even for the experience of “finding another gear” in a race simulation.

I was running for the girl on the sidelines one year ago who never imagined the places God would take her.

Coincidentally, I did “find the next gear,” pumped my arms, and let my joy carry me swiftly towards the finish.

After I took my final strides, I fell to my knees out of exhaustion. Amidst catching my breath, I glanced up, and took in the scene. As, my teammates and I congratulated each other for our courageous efforts, my heart was filled.

This run was special to me; God used what most would consider a typical progressive speed workout to speak to me. On this particular day, I realized that right there, in the middle of the park, surrounded by my teammates, coaches, and the warm autumn air, was where I was meant to be. Every battle I fought during my senior year, against stress from school, overwhelming feelings of anxiety, the loss of my high school coach, a scary car accident resulting in a concussion and a totaled car, and uncertainty about the future, led up to this very moment.

I felt overwhelmingly blessed.

To find and have the opportunity to attend the college of my dreams is an indescribable feeling. Before arriving at Augustana University, I never imagined I would make so many incredible connections with people, attend so many impactful courses, and have so many opportunities to express my love for Jesus through worshipping, writing, and running.

All of this I realized at the end of a cross country practice. Sometimes, God speaks extraordinary statements in completely ordinary situations.