I never thought I would be a “runner”. I was the girl who 1 slowest in the PE class. A few years ago, I was walking with a group of 2  in the Race for the Cure, a 5km race designed to 3 money for the fight against breast cancer(癌), 4  one lady caught my 5 .

    She was one of the weakest-looking women I've ever seen. She must have been close to seventy years old, 6  a T-shirt with the word “Survivor”. She was so small that it seemed as if she could even be 7  by a strong wind. But, she was running. And she was 8  me and my group of friends. She ran slowly, but 9  —as if each step pushed her cancer further into her past. Right at that moment, I10  that in the next Race for the Cure, I'd be running along with her.

    A week later, I found myself in the 11 , running on the treadmill(跑步机). Three minutes after I started, my face was bright red. I felt like my lungs were going to burst. I 12  slow down to a walk. I thought of the 13  at the race. I kept it up. I was able to go a little 14  each time. Three and a half minutes. Four minutes. Five.

    A year later, I was 15  at the Race for the Cure, but this time, I 16  with the runners. When the race started, the other runners passed me by. I ran forward. I wondered if I'd be 17  to do it. But then, I remembered the brave woman. I ran as fast as I could until I finally crossed that finish line. I had just 18  my first race! I 19  down at my legs, amazed. They had done something I'd never thought 20 . I have never felt stronger than at that moment. And, I knew that I wanted to do it again.

    Jayce began noticing when he was in kindergarten that he looked different from his classmates. They had two arms. He had one.

    It started when one boy 1 him, said his mother, Lewis. He'd return to his home with questions: “Why am I 2? Why me? His mother recalled he was actually mad at God for making him that way and that it was a heavy 3 to his heart.

    Lewis 4 she didn't know what to do at that point. A few weeks later, Lewis turned on the TV to a news story about an eighth grader, Trashaun, becoming an Internet hit after 5 videos of his slam dunks (灌篮), and, like Jayce, he 6 most of his left arm. Lewis called Jayce in. To her surprise, Jayce was immediately 7. At the time, it seemed that watching Trashaun was 8 an inspiring moment for Jayce—he saw a role model with a similar 9. If it had stayed just that, Lewis would have been happy enough. But little did she know that a family friend had already 10 to the newspaper to help set up a 11 with Trashaun to build Jayce's confidence.

    The boys met and instantly 12 with each other as both of them were in the same condition. They rode bikes, took photos, and shot basketball on the court. Instead of spending the whole day feeling 13 for themselves, they had a lot of fun. However, Trashaun did get 14 with Jayce sometimes. They talked about his left arm. He told Jayce he was perfect the way God made him. He also told him not to let anyone 15 him and not to let those words shake his 16.

    Since that meeting, Lewis has seen a noticeable 17 in her son. As for Trashaun, his relationship with Jayce made him 18 to help more kids. “Honestly, it 19 a lot to know that I changed Jayce's life,” Trashaun says. Still, he never dreamed that his 20 would have such an impact. “I just thought my friends would see them, and be like, 'Oh, he dunked it!'”

    He certainly did.

    When you are five years old, your mother is your everything. She is your1, friend, nurse; the only person you rely on2with your hopes, dreams, and wishes. But for me, this was not the case.

    My mother suffered from 3problems that would keep her in bed for days, leaving me to care for her and look after myself. This situation4me to grow up much faster. While I knew my mother was sick, I felt deep down that we could5it and everything would be okay. 6, in 1997 everything went terribly wrong, and my life changed forever.

    Adoption is a7word to a five-year-old, but when I realized that my own mother had signed me over to8, I felt it was the worst betrayal. I suffered from shock, anger, and confusion as I attempted to adjust to my new family. No longer could I trust anyone since the person I had loved more than all else had9me. Hearing people tell me that she did it in my best interest, I felt it even more10. I could not forgive her and always11 how she could reject me like an old sofa.

    However, the more I got older, the more I began to understand how12 our situation had been. We had been13 on boxes of noodles, and at one point we14 lived in our car. I was once passed from drug-addicted cousins to mentally unstable neighbors as my mother15 to try and save me from what our lives were becoming16 each day passed.

      17 recently have I begun to understand why my mother gave me to strangers.    18, she really did save me. She loved me more than anything, so she wanted me to have a chance in life, 19 she could no longer offer me. I now know my life has been a special 20only because she was selfless enough to give me up. 

Worth the pain in the end

    I used to hate running. It seemed too hard and pushing outside my comfort zone was not something I was raised to do.

    In fact, I wouldn't have become a1if it weren't for my husband Charles. He had been a serious competitive runner for many years. After our marriage, he wouldn't stop talking about how much he missed it.

    "So start running again, why don't you?" I was getting 2 of hearing about it.

    So he picked it up again, and after about a year, I started to join him at the track (跑道). Just a few weeks later, Charles signed us both up for a five-kilometer race. I 3about doing it. It was too soon.

    But on 4 day, there I was.

    The gun went  5. Thousands of runners pushed forward.

    The first kilometer was 6.

    "I don't think I'm going to make it." I was already breathing heavily and painfully aware of the group of runners  7 past me.

    "No, you're doing 8", said Charles. He was trying to encourage me, to get me focused on something other than my  9.

    "I can't, " I said, 10 audibly (听得见地).

    He tried a different way to 11 me. "Just make it to that house and let's see how you feel."

    After another minute I saw the three-kilometer  12. All I could think of was that I was dying and that my husband was torturing (折磨) me.

    Miserable doesn't even begin to describe  13 I felt. And there was so much 14.

    "You'll be fine. You've got less than a kilometer to go."

    I rounded a corner and saw both sides of the street thick with people watching the race, all cheering the runners on. I 15 my legs to keep going.

    Then I looked up and saw the clock. The seconds ticking away (一分一秒地过去) gave me an incentive (助力). I knew that if I finished this race, I would have achieved something. So, I straightened up, and kicked it.

    I had my arms held higher when I passed 16the finish line. A volunteer put a 17 around my neck.

    "You did great! I'm so 18 of you!" Charles was thrilled that I'd 19 it.

    "That was AMAZING! I want to do another race. This running stuff is amazing!" I proudly hugged my medal as we started to walk to the post-race festivities.

    My lungs and my comfort zone both 20.

Growing roots

When I was growing up. I had an old neighbor named Dr. Gibbs. He didn't look like any doctor I'd 1 known. When Dr. Gibbs wasn't 2 lives, he was planting trees.

The good doctor had some 3 theories on planting trees. He believed in "No pains, no gains". He never 4 his new trees, which was 5 many people. He thought that watering plants spoiled (宠坏) them, and that if you want strong trees, you have to make things 6 for them. He, talked about how watering trees 7 shallow roots, and how trees that weren't watered had to grow deep roots in 8 of water. I came to understand that he meant deep roots were to be 9. The lack of water seemed to 10 the trees in ways comfort and ease never could.

I used to 11 for my sons that their lives will be easy. But 12 I've been thinking that it's time to13 my prayer. I know my children are going to meet14and I'm praying they will be strong. The prayer for comfort is seldom met. What we need to do is to pray for deep roots, so when the winds blow, they won't be 15 away.