When life is interrupted....

...how do you respond? I think it's hard to answer that question until the moment comes. There is no preparation and there is no practice. So when someone or something throws a kink in your best laid plans, how do you react?

My story started about two weeks ago when I was heading to my first PT school interview at a school in Dallas. I got up early to make sure I had time to take a shower, enjoy my morning cup of joe, and eat a good breakfast. I left the house 2 hours prior to my interview in order to allow enough time to get to the school, settle down at a local Starbucks, and relax prior to my interview.

Well, things didn't exactly work out as planned. Yes, I did leave the house 2 hours early, but the weather was so nasty that it took me 1 1/2 hours to drive to Dallas, a drive that normally takes 30 minutes. However, I was not stressing out because I still had 30 minutes to spare. Then, life took a turn for the worst.

As I was sitting at a red light, I noticed an empty lane to my left and decided The Menace (my car) needed to be in that lane instead of the one I was currently in. Just about the time I made my move to the left hand lane, a car traveling about 30-40 mph collided with the front end of my car.

Houston, we have a problem.

I'm only 5 miles from the school, but now I've got to sort out this wreck, stand in the driving rain in my suit, and somehow pull myself together and get to my interview in less than 30 minutes. My initial reaction was one of pure disbelief. These things happen to other people, not me. Reality soon kicked in and forced me to deal with the situation. I had been waiting more than a year for this moment and now I felt like it was all going down the drain. But I had to trust the Lord had everything under control. Thankfully, we were able to sort out the wreck, exchange insurance, and I arrived at my interview 5 minutes ahead of time composed and collected.

Right now, I'm not sure if this story has the ending I intended when I left my house that Friday morning. But one thing I am sure of is that the Lord is concerned about every detail of our lives -- from the smallest issues to the biggest decisions -- and I'm confident if you view life through that lens you will react differently when life is interrupted.

The Time Has Come

Last August, I jumped off and did something I knew I wanted to do. However, when I left Arizona to head back to Texas, I was not quite sure how it would all turn out. Now, almost a year later and after a lot of hard work, I'm one step closer to that dream becoming a reality. On Friday, I will step on the campus of an undisclosed medical school here in Texas and interview for one of the 40 coveted spots for their doctorate of physical therapy program. I'm excited, anxious, and tremendously honored.

This week I've had the chance to reflect this past year -- the ups and downs, the late nights of studying, and the countless hours of volunteering and observation all in preparation for this moment. I couldn't help but see all the ways the Lord worked in my life during that time. Put simply, He has been faithful and He has been good.

I can't wait to see the outcome of my interview on Friday. I'll be sure to let my Running the Race readers if/when I receive any news.

Consistency

Consistency....in theory it sounds really good, but when it comes to my blog, I have been the poster child for inconsistency. As one of my friends pointed out, my blog is going to start being referred to as "empty Web space" unless I get my act together and start providing some half way decent content on my blog. Consistency is hard, but I'm up for the challenge. Keep holding me accountable and I'm going to put "blogging" towards the top of my to do list.

It's come to my attention....

....that my blog needs to be revived/given CPR/cared for and nurtured a bit more. I didn't realize I had so many avid readers out there in cyberspace. Over the past few weeks, I've heard of two friends who have started blogs because of Running the Race so I need to uphold my end of the bargain and blog as well.

Where do I start? A better question might be, where did the summer go? All I can say it was an incredible summer full of a ton of great memories, hills and valleys, and laughs and tears. But I can't think of a recent summer in the past 10 years that had more "stuff" jam packed into it.

In the next few days, I hope to start unpacking my summer for you, reliving some of the best memories, and spend some time talking about what's going on now and what I'm looking forward to in the future.

I'm looking forward to sharing some insight into the crazy world of Burke Wilson.

I'M A TEXAN!!

I'm back Running the Race blog readers. I hope you enjoyed your summer vacation. I've been knee deep in summer school, but on Monday, it all ends and I'll have two weeks of vacation. I got some wonderful news today and thought it would be fitting to share it first on my blog.

I was officially awarded my Texas residency today. WHOOP!!

Arizona, it will be hard to see you go, but my true homeland is calling my name. I've never been more ready to go put on my cowboy boots, pearl snap shirt, tight Wrangler jeans and 10 gallon cowboy hat and go two-steppin'.

On top of that great news, I now get to pay in state tuition which will save me a ton of money!!

Recharge

It's been a little more than a week since I returned to the States and to say that I "hit the ground running" is a little bit of an understatment. It is better to characterize it as I hit the ground sprinting like I was trying to outrun Usain Bolt in the 100m dash.

I've been looking forward to today this entire week. I knew that with first round of tests, work, and volunteer activities that I was going to running around DFW a lot. But I also knew that at the end of that tunnel, I had scheduled some time to recharge my battery.

This morning, I slept in until 7:45 a.m. Now, some people might not consider that sleeping in, but when you are waking up every morning at 5:00 a.m., almost three more hours of sleep seems like a dream come true. I got up this morning, enjoyed some Kenyan brew, some biscuits with my favorite peanut butter and syrup, went for a nice run, cleaned my room, and just spent some time by myself. And because of it, I'm completely recharged and ready to go back at it.

This has been one of the biggest lessons I've tried to apply to my life since returning from Africa. I realize there will be times when I'm moving at mach speed. That is just life. But I've learned to recognize those times and make sure I have some down time scheduled to recharge my battery and refill my tank.

Have you made some time recently to recharge your battery so that you can continue to be an effective mom or dad, brother or sister, colleague, friend, etc.? If not, I'd encourage you to find that time soon.

FINAL THOUGHTS before heading home

I have not posted since Friday because we just returned from our safari in the Masai Mara late yesterday afternoon. The last few days have been AWESOME!! I feel like I’ve said that a lot on this trip, but I can honestly sit here and type that word again because every expectation I had for this trip has been met and exceeded.

On our two day safari in the plains and rolling hills of the Masai Mara, we saw the BIG 5 and much more. We saw Simba and Nala on Pride Rock, Pumba, and the rest of the gang. Okay….so we didn’t encounter Rafiki or Timon, but we did see a pride of lions napping, a momma cheetah and her two cubs, a leopard on the prowl, a pack of elephants, a dead elephant (must have been 2002 years old – sorry, Texas A&M reference), a “happy” rhino, gazelles, jackals, zebras, giraffes, and the really ruthless cape buffalo. I took more than 500 pictures of the landscape and all of the animals. I can’t wait to get back to the States, put them in a slide show, and then share them with you. Aside from our adventures in the Masai Mara Reserve, we camped at site owned and operated by the Masai tribe. On our last night, the tribesman built us a fire so that we could make s’mores. Jill suggested that I bring all of the ingredients from home so that we could share them with the native Kenyans joining us on the trip.

Have you ever built relationships over s’mores and a campfire?

We did and it was an incredible experience. Even the Masai tribesman joined us and loved the “sweets” (as they called it) that we served. With s’mores as our entry point, we launched into a conversation through the translation of Rogo, a native Kenyan on the trip with us, with the Masai tribesman – Baba (or “father”, a term of respect for someone who is older) and Morris (a 22 year old Masai warrior). For the next hour or so, we asked questions about each other’s culture. A couple highlights from our conversation:

- Masai men and women very early. Baba had a hard time understanding why I was not married at 28 years old. He said, “why do you travel to Kenya instead of looking for a wife?” It was really funny.

- Morris told us about the qualifications of manhood in the tribe. At 12 or 13, they go out into the forest and must kill a lion with a spear. Then, they return to the village with the lion’s mane and are circumcised. At that time, they can get married.

- A masai’s wealth is determined by how many head of cattle they own and how many kids and wives they have.

- The masai tribe has done a very good job at retaining their culture and traditions, but you could definitely pick up on the subtle differences in viewpoint between the older and younger man. It was interesting to see how the younger generation has more of a modern outlook on life.

I could go on for days about this conversation. If we ever sit down to talk and have some time, ask me about it. It was a huge highlight for me and the trip to the Mara.

Tonight, I board a plane back to the United States, but I expect to continue blogging about my experiences and what I learned from my time in Africa. During this whole trip, I’ve encouraged you (my blog readers) consider taking a risk on an adventure. I continue to hold fast to that message. For the past 12 days, I’ve been on an “adventure” that has taken me down rapids of a Kenyan river, in a matatu, into the slums with hurting people, to a rehabilitation clinic for kids with severe disabilities, into conversations with native Kenyans and Masai warriors, and to the plains of the Masai Mara. And with every adventure, every interaction, and in every experience, I’ve learned more about who I am and who God truly created me to be. I’ve been challenged. I’ve been stretched. And now I’m refreshed and rejuvenated and ready to return home.

Kwaheri from Kenya,

Burke (or “Booke” as they call me here in Kenya)