My Hero!

Here comes my daddy in the red shirt! He is my Hero!

Proverbs 22:6 - "Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old, he will not depart from it."

That is precisely why my daddy is my hero.  He spent his time training my sister and I to trust and hold firm in our faith.  He and my mom (who is also my hero) made great sacrifices to assure that they, at the end of the day, could say that they trained us in the way we should go.  They had help from the Father above, but man they did an awesome job.  Today I hold firm to that faith!

My daddy is a fighter, he is not a quitter, he gives so much to make sure that the job is well done.  This weekend I had the privilege of tagging along to see him complete his 8th marathon.  The picture above is him coming into the finish line at Chickamauga.  This is where my distance running interest began, when I did the 10 miler with my daddy.  Then on to the marathon, and then the half pregnant with Will, watching dad finish the marathon in time to BQ!

The finish of this years marathon was different.  I was a supporter, not a runner, I enjoyed cheering from the side with Mom, Ginga, and Will (the bug did bite me though, I want back in).  As Will and I walked along through the battlefield cheering on the runners it was humbling, to hear the thanks for telling strangers they were doing great!  We got to the finish line to wait for dad and my heart was beating so fast, come on daddy, come on daddy!  But today was different in another way too, daddy didn't come around the corner as fast as we and he hoped. 

As Will and I stood up near the corner of the homestretch we cheered and prayed that he would come soon.  Here he came, my, OUR hero, William Smith!  My daddy rounded that corner and Will in my arms, cheered just as he would have if he had come sooner, he was so excited to yell "GO POP GO!" He stopped to give Will a kiss, we told him he did great, and on he went to the finish line.

Pop and Will at the finish!

Maybe he didn't finish in the time originally planned, but here is the deal, he is my hero because he finished! He was hurting today but he finished, he did not quite!  My daddy is running marathons into his upper 50's!  Its not easy, he works many hours, runs many miles, and has a Father of his own that he looks to for guidance.  That is why my daddy is my hero, because he continues the race set before him, he finishes the race, and he does it to the best of his God given ability for that day. 

My daddy has never let me down, he has guided me on a path set for Christ, he has shown me that it isn't always easy, but if the job is done and if it is done with Christ by your side, you can be proud.  And so, I am proud, I am proud to call him daddy and I am so proud that Will can call him Pop!  We love you daddy!

Will, Pop, and Nonnie - Some pretty AMAZING grandparents!