get your kicks........

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A while back, Parklen received a card in the mail from someone he has never met....

This card.





After reading the words to him through tear filled eyes....
I smiled.
He smiled....

We talked about how awesome it was that Jen was thinking about him all the way across the country when she ran all of those miles...
even though....they had never met.
We talked about how he used to be unable to walk or run....

We talked about how everything that happens to us is a chance to show God's work....

We talked about how someone is always watching....
and the way that we handle hardships can help to build someone else's faith as well as our own....

We talked a lot.
and then I cried a little more.

The past 7 years have really been hard.
There is no doubt about that.
There have been moments when I thought that I had taken all I could as a mother...
there have been times when I thought for sure, Parklen had taken all he could...

In 7 years,
I cannot count the nights of terror and worry...
I cannot measure the stress...


But, when my son receives something like this in the mail....
I can say,
it was not a loss...

Because, Parklen has persevered...
he has.
He has fought, and he has won many battles....
and through it all...
God has remained...
Parklen has touched my life....
and he has touched the lives of many others...

I am so grateful for people that reach out.
I am grateful that whenever I see Parklen sporting his new kicks....
I will be reminded of the race he has run....
The hurdles he has jumped...
the miles he has traveled...
and I will be reminded that others think of him....often.
When Parklen wears his new kicks...
he smiles,
he says he is faster and can jump higher....


Thank you Jen,
for the shoes...that represent so much more than just rubber soles on the ground....
for the reminder...
for the love...


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