This past Saturday I had the honor of being a part of a team on 16 women (including myself) who together completed the treacherous, mind boggling, physically demanding Mudderella!  Ok…Maybe those words are a bit exaggerated but nonetheless it was not your average walk in the park.  For those who aren’t familiar with Mudderella, it is a 5-7 mile obstacle course.  This one was 5.2 miles and had 13 obstacles.  It’s not about finishing first as much as it is about staying together.  Team work is key! The course is designed by women for women.  Men can be a part of a team but #WSWE was women only.

Saturday morning we met up at my place at 4:45 am to get our t-shirts on and outfits on point!  Our t-shirts said “Let’s Do This!” in magenta and the team looked great.  We knew we would be filled with mud but we looked good doing it!  By 5:20 we were on our way to Genoa, Wisconsin where Mudderella took place.  We were all pretty excited and VERY nervous!  Personally, every time I thought about Mudderella I wanted to throw up!  I had no clue what to expect and that always makes me nervous.

When we arrived we checked our bags, took pictures, prayed, stretched and in the blink of an eye we were on our way!

It was about a half mile jog (or wog if you are me- that’s a cross between walk/jog) to the first obstacle and it felt like forever.  Finally we came across the first obstacle called “Down to the Wire.” Basically it was a pit of mud under wires that you had to army crawl your way through….It looked like this…

After this obstacle we took a brisk walk through a field of lillies…

Until we got to our next obstacles which happened to be six of what seemed to be the highest mud bumps in the world separated by a sea of mud (OK…that also was exaggerated but you get the drift!).

There were 4.2 more miles and 11 other obstacles to demolish… here are a few of the obstacles that were left.

A giant wall (without a rope).  Zoraida did it!  Sorry if your scared of heights!

Or claustrophobic!  Dawn vs. Claustrophobia= Dawn WON!

SO DID I!

There were walls with ropes.

Tires that made you Tired!

And lastly, you sit on the ledge and go!!

I know this all looks like simple, clean fun. It totally was! This group of women were amazing. This was all a lot of fun but it was what was happening in between that made the difference.  The advantage of this event not being timed or considered a race was that in between obstacles we were able to walk and talk to one another.  It amazed me how this event was so much more than just a physical accomplishment.

This course really represented the journeys so many of us are on.  Journey’s that are tiresome, hurtful, long and sometimes just dirty.  We go on these and have no idea what is coming up next but we know we have to keep going.  No matter how crazy it becomes!  One thing that I learned was that no matter the journey….God ALWAYS provides help.  We are surrounded by people who love us and are supporting us.  Sometimes they are there to pick your foot up to get over that high wall and other times they are telling you that going underground may not be as scary as you think and then there are times they are just there to hold your hand when you are hurt because the journey becomes too painful.  Those people, friends, sisters and spouses are all reflections of our creator who desires to see us walk in victory just as HIS son did.

You know leading up to this challenge I read their tagline which is “Own your strong.”  I thought that was a quick and clever marketing line.  As I spent time on the course with my dear, dear friend Dawn she said something so profound.  This is what she shared:

” You know the world wants to be strong.  The women here are proving they are owning their strong.  But us…Our group we are owning our weak.  We know when we are weak HE is strong.  That is how he wants us. Today we are owning our weak.”

It was at that moment that I recognized most of us had come to a point where we knew we couldn’t continue living life as we had.  We needed more and more of Jesus.  In our physical weakness, God made us strong enough to climb walls, jog long distances, lift others up and honestly a couple of us ladies on the team together have lost about 150lbs!  When we realized we couldn’t do it without God he gave us more than we could have ever imagined.  He is giving us the strength to keep our eyes on the prize.  And let me tell you…. the journey there has been tough but Jesus has made many of those moments sweet!

Today I encourage you to “Own your weak.”  I’ve tried doing this without HIM and failed everytime…Hence WSWE!  Join me and the #WSWE Team in owning your weak and declaring that Jesus is strong!  You will overcome every obstacle you encounter,  HE will see you through!

To the #WSWE team thank you for partaking in one of the sweetest moments in my life.  I pray you were as blessed as I was and that in your weakness you recognized HE is strong.  There was no way we could have done this without one another.  You all played an important role.  Thank you and I love you!

To the amazing Husbands who showed their support and took these amazing pictures…thank you.  Best cheering squad ever!  And Donny….I LOVE YOU!  You’re my hero!

Be encouraged today…We can do this…The best is yet to come!

Madelynn

“Then you will know the truth, and the truth shall set you free.” John 8:32