Spoiler: Inspirational sports stories to come
Fundraising truly feels like running a marathon. Now, I (Meg) have never run a marathon, but my stud of mother has. For her fortieth birthday, she signed up to run 26.2 miles around Honolulu, including a section near Diamond Head (the famous outlook). In the final stretch of her race, she was tired. Dead tired. Running uphill in the heat she was suddenly joined by someone she calls “her angel.” This angel of a woman was not running that race, but she came alongside mom and ran with her, providing encouragement and distraction from her aching muscles. As the finish line approached, she parted ways, leaving my mom empowered to finish what she started.
Hebrews 12:1 speaks to this:
Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.
In the hard moments, I’ve wondered if it would be better to just get a job at the International school and bypass this whole fundraising business…wouldn’t that be easier? In some ways, yes. But while we might “run the same race,” we’d be missing a key ingredient—you, our cloud of witnesses. We’d miss out on the invaluable training this process has brought about ("throwing off" those entanglements is very real). This move isn’t to satisfy a millennial desire to travel or desire to escape, it is to carry out our calling as Christians, to take God’s love to the ends of the earth. We were never meant to do that alone. We would be poorer for it. If my mom had gone off and run that 26.2 miles by herself on a solitary road, she might have felt proud and accomplished, but it would not have been as meaningful as accepting love from her “angel,” or as finishing amidst cheering crowds and collapsing into her husband’s arms.
We started the inquiry process for Young Life International nearly a year ago, and here we are, still preparing. But when I look at our fundraising tracker, and I see 77 boxes filled in, I’m filled with joy and determination. You all are our cloud of witnesses. You are like Derek Redmond’s dad coming to his son’s aid to finish his Olympic race in 1992. We need you.
My (Chase) Grandpa Marv (pictured left with Grandma Doris) used to have an opinion on basketball. He would say something like, “Give each team 100 points and have them start in the 4th quarter! That’s when it really gets interesting!” The fourth quarter in the sports world is often the separation between mediocrity and greatness. A common sports debate is, “How clutch is this person?” Meaning, when the game is coming to a close, who is going to get the job done? Career defining moments, for better or for worse, often are found in the last segment of the game.
All that to say, Meg and I are in the 4th quarter, the final stretch of the race—we’ve passed 75% of our fundraising goal. As we start to make preparations for our transition, we’ve reached the point where things “start to get interesting.” There have been so many generous folks who have been a part of our journey from the beginning—we are so grateful for you and don’t take your generosity for granted.
But now we’re asking ourselves, “Who is going to be clutch to help us finish strong?” Our list is not as long as it once was. Oftentimes, unlikely heroes emerge during crunch time (remember John Paxson from The Last Dance?) and we get excited, and a little uncertain, who those people will be.
If you’ve been watching from the sidelines, would you consider being our John Paxson? Our “Big Shot” Bob? Our Edgar Martinez? Our running “angel?”
We still need about 20 monthly supporters. 20 people willing to bear witness to God’s call in our lives. Could it be you?
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