Tonight in our little hood there is a 5K for "Be the Match", an organization benefitting folks who need a bone marrow transplant. Honestly I wasn't planning to run because we just got back from Hawaii on Monday night (I know, tough life) and I'm still pretty run down, but I have a reason for running that is driving me to get off my booty and do this.
Over the past year or so, my sweet friends Dennis and Zan Frick have fought alongside their son, Devin, in his battle with leukemia. During this terrible time he began dating my dear friend Kim Bott who loved Devin selflessly and joyfully through his illness. Devin needed a bone marrow transplant and his sister, Lisha, was a perfect match. She graciously donated her bone marrow in order to help prolong her brother's life. I don't know a lot about this process, but I have read that it is painful and of course accompanied by the usual risks of surgery and anesthesia. What a selfless act!
Despite all the prayers, love, transplant, and excellent care Devin lost his life to leukemia just a few short weeks ago. I have thought a lot about Devin's sister and how discouraged she must feel. Still I am amazed at her brave spirit and her willingness to stand in the gap for her brother. That's just the kind of reckless love that Jesus talks about in John chapter 25 where He says,
"In the same way, anyone who holds on to life just as it is destroys that life. But if you let it go, reckless in your love, you'll have it forever, real and eternal."
So tonight I am going to run this little race in honor of Lisha and Devin and his sons and Zan and Dennis and Kim, as well as all those missing him and grieving this loss. I love the way you all loved Devin with reckless abandon and am trusting that you have that love forever, real and eternal.
P.S. Sidenote: I am the slowest runner on the planet. Maybe not, but still I'm real real slow. When I took the President's Physical Fitness test in school I could NEVER run the mile. I wasn't overweight, I just couldn't do it. Couch to 5K has been my friend, though I often still prefer the couch. My prayer this year has been that I would begin to crave GOOD THINGS. Not good things like Oreos, 12 hour nights of sleep (never happens), or binge watching "New Girl" on Netflix. What I want to crave are the things that are the BEST for me - like running and laughing hard and eating food that is not brown. So yippee!! I'm celebrating this baby step tonight by gearing up in my Patagonia running dress my hubs gave me and jogging my self around SJGCC.
P.P.S. Why did I choose to quote a Chris Brown song for the title of this post? Suspect. But great running song.
