Another Heartbreak Hill
I am not a runner. But I do have a number of friends who are runners and do marathons and 10Ks on a regular basis. From them, and from watching some of the better-known marathons and 10Ks, like Boston, New York and Atlanta’s Peachtree Road Race, I know that every course has its equivalent to Boston’s infamous Heartbreak Hill, a gruelingly steep ascent about 20 miles into the course.
Life is very much like a marathon, and this I know from personal experience. Each life has its own version of Heartbreak Hill, many of us have more than one. The biggest difference between Boston’s Heartbreak Hill and those we encounter in life is that when you train for the Boston Marathon you know exactly when you’ll have to climb that hill. Not so in life.
Just over two years ago I wrote a Moment Of JOY about a personal marathon my wife Teri and I ran. It lasted nearly 2,000 days, from the time she was diagnosed with breast cancer until five years later when she was able to stop her daily medicine which followed surgery and radiation and helped ensure her cancer did not return. During that time there were many hills, most related directly to what Teri was going through, but also to the passing of loved ones and struggles our extended family experienced.
For the past two years we’ve continued running our life marathon on mostly level ground. Sure, there have been some twists and uneven pavement, but for the most part our pace has been quick and relatively easy.
Until last week. The road ahead has suddenly gotten much steeper. Teri was diagnosed with thyroid cancer.
Experienced runners, even when they are on an unfamiliar course, know how to pace themselves on those inevitable hills. They rely on their training, the cheers of the crowd and their burning desire to finish the race. So it is in our own personal marathons. From Teri’s first bout with cancer we know we can rely on God, the source of our help and hope. And on brothers and sisters in Christ who pray and lift us up with comfort and encouragement and hope.
Yes, the road ahead is steep and the crest is not yet in view. But we know that it is there and that the creator of Heaven and earth and all that is in them loves us and never leaves us. In this we find true joy.
Jerry Williams