Family Reminder
A family picture is always a special thing. This was our crew that drove to the Outer Banks to spend time together and cheer on my wife Jan and her cousin Katie.
This trip started to form last June when Jan and Katie signed up for a “bucket list” race that traversed the flat and windy road between Nags Head and Hatteras. It seemed crazy but just within reach for a few 40-something moms, teachers, and amazing wives!
After signing up a typical approach would be to log lots of long walks, get serious about nutrition, and devote more and more time to the dream of crossing the finish line. While Jan and Katie did some of that it sure wasn’t easy or to plan.
After signing up we had 3 family members find out they had cancer, including Katie. We all had to rally around the fam and walk out the treatment plan and numerous doctors visits. Amazingly all 3 are now cancer free but it wasn’t until a week before the race that my parents felt like they had the strength to travel.
We had a knee replacement just weeks before the race. Katies father, Gary, had just enough movement in the days before the race and he decided he would give it a go.
Katie’s husband, Shannon, is an amazing farmer. But farming doesn’t stop when vacation calls and since it’s spring and time to get moving on that front it wasn’t a sure thing he would be able to go. Plus he had to tend to illness on his side of the family.
Jan’s feet were all fired up due to a condition that she has been dealing with for many years. The cumulation of teaching stress, changing teaching locations, and thinking of walking 62 miles made her feet ache. She never reached the mileage in preparation that she wanted to and we left for the Outer Banks unsure if she would even do the race.
Somehow we all made it down to the eastern seaboard of North Carolina last Thursday. We were the walking wounded, the bent-but-not-broken, and the worn-from-the grind crew. We arrived puttering on fumes and not tapered and fit!
The weekend went along and Jan and Katie toed the line and walked the walk. It was amazing. Nothing stopped them and we kept checking off the miles in pursuit of that finish line. The pace slowed but never stopped. There were several times the whole family came out to cheer them on and the smiles came from the heart.
When all was said and done and we had just a few hours sleep after the race we gathered for a photo. Part of my life as a dad-son-husband is official picture taker. I’m not good at finding the shot or even have any artistic eye. But I can work a timer on the phone and stack random objects to position the phone while I run into my place! I took one shot and while it was good I thought we could wrangle one more shot to capture the moment.
The second shot wrapped the journey up perfectly. Spreading over the sound and perched in the background was a faint rainbow. A rainbow to remind us that God is faithful and can be trusted. He did it for Noah and all of humanity and here we were on Hatteras Island seeing, and experiencing, the same message! We signed up, adversity came our way and our plans were soon abandoned in order to just hang on. But it didn’t mean the race was to be forgotten or rejected! Our strength was lacking for this journey. The work was tough, the miles painful. The stress, the burden, the heaviness of life over the last few months, even week, was too much. It was too much! But God created a way and His timing opened doors at just the right time. There was health restored, not in our time, but in His time. There was an amazing physical achievement but both Katie and Jan would say it wasn’t their ability or sheer willpower that got them through. It was a walking miracle that took place for almost 18 hours! It sure was a winding road but we traversed it with God’s help.
I’m positive we are not the only ones with a story like that. It’s just good to get a reminder of who is in control and what can be done when we feel like we are insufficient. We’re never too late, too weak, or too broken to experience a miracle.
