Walking for the little lives that matter

As most of you know I have been blessed with two of the greatest parents on this planet (Be peanut butter jealous). My father, a 6 foot, gargantuan-handed, wisdom-overloaded teddy bear of a man is the epitome of a Man of God. He's the proud pastor of a thriving church PAID IN FULL called Grace Emmanuel Church and currently venturing on his newest journey of becoming an author. The backbone to this hero of mine is my dearest "Momma-Sue". A nickname my oldest brother dubbed her with as a bratty toddler (that's right, I said it). The inspiration this woman instills in me on a regular basis is groundbreaking and let me tell you friends, this past weekend was no exception!! 

My Wonder Woman of a mother is the executive director of Carenet Pregnancy Services. A locally organized and funded outreach that provides a variety of free services anywhere from free pregnancy tests to parenting classes and baby clothes. This past Saturday was their 28th annual Walk for Life. 

(What a turnout!)

Held at the Jensen Beach High school, as you walk through the entrance you're immediately greeted with the glorious sight of cotton candy and the aroma of grilled cheeseburgers and hot dogs. I could almost hear the food whispering sweet nothings in my ear. Personally, I saw no need to walk any further, but the tugging of limbs by my tiny humans forced me begrudgingly onward.

Before we even made it to the track to start our sponsored exercise, Hailey had wasted no time finding a seat sitting face to face with a face painters brush. Styling her new favorite pair of glittery cat ears, naturally she kept with the feline theme. Elijah, finding a real kindred spirit in Batman these days, chose to sport the symbol across his face like the masked vigilante himself. 

Face painting was just one of the many great side attractions to wildly distract my kids from our objective. There was livestock to pet, games to play, bleachers to run up "Rocky style" and of course (it deserves a second mention) fooooood. Alas, after many (many) failed attempts, we made our way onto the track and did our due diligence. 

Proudly prancing over the hot asphalt with belly's full of juice-flavored ice shavings, I looked over at my 16yr old niece who was walking with us. This sarcastically, pure-hearted young lady was the catalyst to my mom discovering her purpose with this wonderful organization. What a testimony this is! It's one of the biggest inspirations I take away from my mom. Staying true to her motto "one right foot in front of the next" she allowed God to take a very scary event in our family's life and turn it into something so much more beautiful than she could have ever imagined. I can only dream to be half the woman she equals up to when I'm her age.

I leave you with this. Keep your joy intact and never lose sight my friends. It may seem impossible at times but you are in the loving hands of a Heavenly Father who has a plan for your life. If you choose Him and let Him have the reigns, your first domino is one "scary" nudge away from colliding forward into a true purpose.