3 days.
60 miles.
1 purpose: to end breast cancer.

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve started writing this month’s newsletter piece just to delete it and start all over again. Those 3 days – those 60 miles – were so full.

They were full of stories – funny stories and touching stories, our stories and the stories of others that we met along the way.
They were full of emotions.
They were full of challenges …
and laughter …
and expectations …
and cheering …
and pit stops …
and medical tents …
and blisters …
and joy …
and determination …
and triumph.

See what I mean? It’s hard for me to condense all of that into a single page. But it was such a formative experience that I can’t not share it this month. So though this may come off as scattered, here goes …

There were certainly times when I struggled. I mean, the 3-Day looks great on paper – empowering and amazing and, while challenging, not impossible. It was easy to sign up and get the ball rolling. Thank you, internet. Click, click, click … and, done! And I found ourselves

And then Friday morning rolled around. Suddenly Jenny and I were standing with the crowd at the opening ceremony and they were saying, “LET’S GO!!” And we were walking. And walking. And waking. And I knew I hadn’t done nearly enough training to get me through unscathed.

But one of the t-shirts that I had made had a passage from Scripture on the back:

“God puts a little heaven in our hearts so that we’ll never settle for less. That’s why we live with such good cheer. You won’t see us drooping our heads or dragging our feet! … It’s what we trust in but don’t yet see that keeps us going.”
~ 2 Corinthians 5:5-7

Truth be told: I fully admit to drooping my head and dragging my feet, especially toward the end of the 2^nd day (the longest day – more than 23 miles).

But no matter what, throughout those 3 days and 60+ miles, there’s a lot that Jenny and I had to trust in.

Every time we came to a heavily-trafficked intersection, we trusted in our safety crew to get us across the street.

Every time we visited the medical tent (which I admittedly did much more often than Jenny did), we trusted that the women and men who were volunteering their time knew how to help us with our aches and pains.

Every time we came back to camp, we trusted that our stuff would be there.

And every time we took a step, we trusted.
We trusted that we would be able to take the next step … and the next one … and the next one.
We trusted in each other.
We trusted in our ability to make a difference.
We trusted in God to walk alongside us.
And we continue to trust in a future free of breast cancer.

That kept us going …

And that still keeps us going.

P.S. – For the rest of the stories, just ask! 🙂