Race Day in the Fruit Flats

My son Roger and I ran in the Bristol Fruit Hills Classic 5 K race (3.1 miles) this morning. The temperature was cool, the humidity was low, and I was ready to run. We visted with some friends we ran into: Steve and Kathleen from Elkhart, and Arvil from South Bend. All ages were there, from grade-schoolers to senior citizens. Arvil and I are in the same age group, solidly middle age. He got first for the men in our age group, and I got second. The course was new to all of us. Last year the race was run south of Bristol, up and down steep hills past former fruit orchards. Some people complained about the hills, so this year the race director, Gary, designed a whole new course that was shorter and completely flat. In a race, I like to pick someone who is just a little faster than I am inclined to go, and keep pace with them, to challenge me to move faster during a race. Today's pace-setter got ahead of me after the half-way point, but I still got a time I was very pleased with. When you race you get a "bib tag" which is a piece of paper with your race number and your name on it. You pin it some place visible on the front of your shirt. I also made up a "bib tag" with the logo for "I'm running for RETA" and wore it just above my race number. Pray that my RETA tag will open up some conversations at future races. I need to find some way to laminate the RETA tag because the ink ran with my sweat today. Tomorrow at church a number of Sunday School classes and individuals will share testimonies in worship about projects they are doing to take Christ's love out into the community. I'll be talking about running for RETA to support the RETA ministries. I just want "Running for RETA" to be a tool the Lord can use as He sees best.