"You can do it! You can RUN!"

I am just LOVIN' life lately. LOVING IT.  I think I just may be out of the postpartum depression, and let me tell you, even the possibility of that being true makes me want to do cartwheels of joy-maybe even attempt a handspring. (I haven't done one of those since I was like, 10.)

Anyway, here's one thing I love about life: I'm human. Yes, in an "everybody makes mistakes" kind of way, but what I really feel like celebrating right now is the beauty of being part of the human family. Of being able to connect with complete strangers in a way that's almost magical, and is miraculous.

I was out on a run, working on my cardio strength by doing 1 minute sprints followed by 2 minute recovery walks. It was a blast, but also a slap in the face. I knew I'd lost some fitness during my postpartum recovery break, but I was stunned at just how much. Like I could only go at top speed for 45 seconds before my body just mandatorily slowed itself down. I was in one of my sprints, thinking to myself that Rudy or Julia better never be more than a 45 second sprint away from me in any emergency, when I whizzed past a little Abuelita out on an evening stroll. I called out "Hi!" to her as we passed and slowed to my recovery walk about 20 seconds later. It just so happened that this was also my turn around point, so I found myself walking back towards this woman.

I know NOTHING about her story, except that she immigrated to the United States from some other country at some point in her life late enough to still have a very pronounced Hispanic accent. Her dark eyes seemed to radiate the strength, courage, and diligence that such a life experience likely taught her. As we passed again she said with energy and love I didn't expect from such an elderly woman I'd never seen before in  my life, "You can do it! You can RUN!" and I believed her.

That little moment carried me all the way home on what felt like winged feet. How did that woman know those were just the words I needed to hear? How did she know my heart was beginning to harbor seeds of doubt and fear that I'd ever really be fit again? She didn't, but God did, and He put us in each other's paths that night, so that we could connect as sisters in the human family in a way that will bless me for a long time yet to come.

I hope that I'll be ready to reach out to others with that same kind of warmth and kindness so that God can work through me like He worked through that beautiful woman out for her evening stroll.