Another Story At Another Blog

I work in communications. I work for a school. I communicate for that school.

Sometimes, I get to tell cool little stories about friends of mine who do cool little things. And now I’m going to share a cool little story with you cool little kids.

When students Jim Strickland and Liz Glaser started training for a marathon in August, neither of them expected it to end quite like it did.

The two ran on behalf of Samaritan’s Purse, a disaster relief charity that Liz’s mother works for. When they finally neared the finish line, Jim dropped to one knee as family members unrolled a banner that said “Liz, Will you marry me?”

“I freaked out,” Liz recalls. “I kept asking, ‘Are you serious?’ I am pretty sure that was the first thing I said.”

While the proposal ended well, it wasn’t always the plan. Jim says that he had thought of proposing at the finish line, but was quickly advised by a few friends not to, as the two would be exhausted and sweaty. A conversation less than a week before the marathon caused him to change his mind.

“I casually mentioned my finish line idea, that I had already scratched, to my sister Katie, and she quickly interjected and said I had to do it. I was able to keep it a complete secret because all the pieces didn’t completely fall into place until 2 days before the race!”

According to Liz, his idea was “perfect.”

“We trained together and literally put sweat and tears into training. He kept me going and ending on this note was awesome.”

Liz and Jim hail from Boone, North Carolina, and Birmingham, Alabama, respectively, but both graduated from French Camp Academy in French Camp, Mississippi. Though friends at the time, they both say that they are amazed at God’s plan for their lives, as they didn’t start dating until coming to college.

Jim will graduate in December with a degree in Business Administration. However, after graduation, he plans on continuing working with Reformed University Fellowship, which he is highly involved in. Liz is an Elementary Education major and plans to work with children after graduation, whether as a teacher or on the mission field.

The couple took part in Team Samaritan’s Purse, a division of Samaritan’s Purse that encourages fund raising activities to support disaster relief across the globe.  Donations on Jim and Liz’s behalf are still being accepted until January. For more information, please visit their website.