a good friend, bailey ran the chicago marathon sunday. very impressive! he ran in honor of his little niece, anna, who was born with cornelia de lang syndrome, or cdls.
what is cdls you might ask (bc i know i sure did)? cdls is a syndrome or collection of signs (observable body changes) and symptoms (problems observed by the patient). cdls presents and affects a child from birth with a myriad of issues including mental retardation, gastroesophageal reflux, seizures, heart defects, cleft palate, bowel abnormalities, feeding difficulties, and developmental delay. sometimes people with cdls have missing limbs or portions of limbs, usually fingers, hands or forearms.
wow- as i type that out it hits me what obstacles anna and her family will face in the coming years. i honestly cannot imagine being in anna's parents' position. but, i just have to share this: everyone who has met anna's parents have said what a blessing it is that anna was born into such a special and Godly family. anna's parents are so very excited to have her join the family! they do not look upon the cdls as some kind of burden, but rather just a unique set of challenges to face alongside their youngest child.
but why run a marathon in honor of someone anyway? sure, to raise money and awareness. but i think there is another deeper reason. you run to show that you stand with others facing the challenges and trials. you run the marathon bc through daily traning and long hours hitting the pavement and pushing yourself through extreme physical stress you begin to understand the long term commitment and endurance it takes to daily tackle the unique challenges associated with cdls, or cancer, or heart disease, or aids, or world hunger or whatever cause it is that makes you run. you run the marathon to learn to push past the pain, past the weariness, past the temptation to quit, bc those who face the rigors of your cause in the real world do not have the option to quit. they can't take a water break or day off from a child facing leukemia or severe mental or physical handicaps. they have to persevere no matter what, and training for a marathon gives you a small taste of what it can be like to keep going when you think you cannot.
the race itself, with all its excitement and butterflies and cheers and volunteers, gives hope. the marathon gives hope that one day, if not today, there is a reason to celebrate. maybe its bc we find a cure or better way to approach a problem, maybe it's just bc we find a way to live joyously with the cause...whatever your victory, crossing the finish line gives hope to your cause.
i see God's fingerprints all over endurance sports. if we, in our weak and pitiful human capacity for love are willing to devote hours and hours of training and painful miles to inspire and bring hope to people we love and even people we do not know, how much more then does the Lord love those same people and us? how much harder does He work for His children? how much more does He act on that love? immeasurably more. and how fantastic is it that He puts people here right in front of us to show us that? very fantastic indeed.
bailey originally set out to raise $2000 for cdls. he raised nearly $8000. he ran the marathon in 4 hours 55 minutes- in 80something degree heat with a foot injury. bailey, you are inspiring. thanks for being the feet of hope.
No comments:
Post a Comment