Thankful. Very Thankful.

This morning caused me to reflect, as I randomly do, on the things I am most grateful for. I participated in my first run with the organization called Back on My Feet (BoMF). It's a running group for those (mostly men, now) living in shelters or transitional homes that assists its members rebuild their lives (via financial assistance and confidence) through running. I had gone to orientation so I knew what to expect as far as the "type" of people I would be running with, and frankly, I grew up in this city, so it's not like I was uncomfortable about it. But, it was a truly humbling experience to pull up in front of the shelter at 5:30 in the morning and see all the people on the inside together, including children. My God, I have so much to be thankful for and so much that I shouldn't even begin to complain about. 

I had driven by this place on many evenings on the way home from work, but it was my first up close and personal experience. When I got out to ask the security guy a question, I overheard a woman on her phone upset with someone saying, "how would you like it if you had to stay in a group home!". Truly humbled by this experience. I am so much more thankful than I was even yesterday.

Well, I finally found where the BoMF peeps were meeting and greeted them all with hugs (which is customary). It makes them feel good and sometimes that's the only hug or love they'll feel or have felt for a while. Heck, the hugs help everyone out. I wasn't weirded out, especially after the initial experience. I remember thinking a hug is the least I could give them. I don't know how each of them ended up in their situations, but I do know that we all make mistakes so it doesn't matter how. It matters how you plan to get out of it.   

Meanwhile, I hoped there'd be someone who ran my pace (about a 9:30 - 10:00 mile, depending on the day) or who was at least willing to. After hearing about their goals and race results from last weekend's Peachtree Corners 5k and 10k, I knew most were all extremely faster than I. There was a guy who seemed to be around my age range who I ended up running with. We talked the whole 2.27 miles. I can tell he's a good person from not knowing too much personal information about him. Hopefully I inspired him as well. I was proud to hear that he said he stopped smoking after running for 2 weeks. And he high-fived me on my weight loss accomplishment. 

This was a good morning. I just really wanted to write this to say, Thank You, God.