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 Surviving and WinningMy recent "cancer lap" reinforced my desire to cherish each moment and live fully for kingdom purposes.
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An uplifting cancer story took place last Friday night. Our local high school dedicated a home football game to cancer awareness, and raised funds for a local care center. The home team players each wore special purple jerseys, with a special name on the back—someone who lost his or her life to this strange disease. After the game, each young man gave his jersey to the family of the person whom he played in honor of that evening. Quite a moment took place as the announcer read each name and number. The uplifting moment, though, happened before the game. The school invited cancer survivors to walk a lap around the track that surrounds the football field as both teams warmed up prior to their contest. Due to my involvement with the football program this year (my son plays), I knew ahead of time about this portion of the evening. Due to my cancer battle that began 11 years ago, I joined the group for a memorable walk with my mom, who started her journey just four months earlier than me. Due to a competitive gene that's impossible to outgrow, I determined to win the lap. Of course no one else saw it as a race, but I couldn't resist the chance to cross the finish line first as thousands watched. My mom called me silly. The walk/race began quite casually. We all met on the track by the south end zone and began to walk in a counter-clockwise direction. This took us past the visitors' bleachers. For a minute or two, the aggression that fans typically express against opponents disappeared; they cheered. A few of their players even exchanged high-fives with folks from our group. We took a break in the north end zone. The American Cancer Society estimates the number of new cancer cases in 2011 alone as 1,596,670. Of these cases, just over 1 million people will survive this year. The survivors I walked the cancer lap with numbered about 50. While we shared an unfortunate commonality, a bond quickly formed. Everyone felt immediately at ease talking with one another, even though few of us were friends. We chatted as if we'd spent years together. As we posed for a picture, one person loudly announced, "I'm so glad to be in this picture. Let's smile real big." Bring a group of people together who have a deep reason to connect and they will do just that—and with little effort. Consider this truth whenever your church decides to reach people in the community. When we lined up to begin the walk to the 50-yard line in front of the home crowd, I grabbed my mom's hand and we weaved our way to the front. An older guy with a cane made a move with only 20 yards to go, but we accelerated and held off his effort. I still wonder about him; he moved well for needing a cane. My mom felt the thrill of nearing the finish line, and said we should go faster to create enough distance to make the win obvious. I now know from whom I received that competitive gene. |        
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Kathy Burr
David, Thanks for sharing your story...didn't know this part of your journey. Love that you use all things in your life to "run the race" with all His energy. Love that you your Mom gave you that competitive gene and that you two were able to walk together and of course come in first! May God continue to use you as you minister and lead with Kids Hope!
Connie Silver
A really heartwarming story of hope and courage.
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