Fight For It

Fight for it.

 I went for a 3 mile run this morning, and those were the words that were running through my head. Fight for it.

 Apparently I found my mantra for my 10K race next weekend. And my motto for the next few weeks probably.

 My running has struggled lately. I mean.... STRUGGLED. I have never quit, but I just seemed to lose my motivation for a little bit. And in so doing, I lost some ground. I feel like I lost the fighter in me for a bit. And now that I have a race coming up again, I have been digging deep to find her again.

 If you don't know or haven't figured out from my blogs yet, I am a fighter. Not the knock down drag you out kind of punch you in the face fighter. But I am a silent fighter. I fight for what I believe in. I push through the obstacles that come my way, no matter how small or how big they are, to get to where I believe I need to be. I instinctively fight back when someone tells me I can't. When others don't understand my reasons, that's ok, they don't have to. I am a fighter. If it is right, I will fight for it, no matter what the odds.
 I may not win every battle, but I learn and grow every time. Whether it's spiritual or physical or emotional.
 And what I have learned is that I don't win every battle, but I know that God has already won my war, so I lean into Him for strength.

 Last year the verse in 2 Corinthians 12 became a motto for me. His grace is sufficient for me. His strength is made perfect in my weakness.

 I love that verse.

 I am weak. But He is strong.
 He fights my battles, but he has made me a fighter. The war is all around me, but He has given me the tools to be a warrior.

 It's who I am. I am a fighter. And the fact that I lost that a little bit made me step back and evaluate why. I don't always really like the reasons I come up with as I pray through and journal through it, but I love that He always brings me back to that verse.

 So I will continue to fight for it.

 I will fight for overcoming the mental obstacles in my running and I will have a great race - no matter what my finish time is.

 I will fight for my marriage, for my kids, for my family in the midst of struggling days.

 I will fight for my faith. I will, through His strength, overcome the obstacles that get in the way of spiritual growth. I have learned that as God is preparing me for something great, the hardest obstacles often come. I will fight those and by His grace, win. And grow through that.

 I will fight for me. Deep down I love who I am, who God has made me to be, who He is shaping me into becoming more and more. But sometimes the critics' voices are loud and sometimes those voices make me hesitate. But I will fight those. Because He has made me uniquely me.

 I will put on my armor and go into battle (Ephesians 6) and be the strong woman God has made me.
 Even on the hard days. And in the good ones, too.

 I will Fight For It.

 And I will carry that mantra and these ideas with me in to my 10K next weekend. It's not the half marathon I wanted to do... but I will give my all in this race and fight for it.