Thursday, May 16, 2013

What's It Worth?



My original idea for this week's blog was going to be about how I felt such emptiness in life before I started ""I Run For...". I had dreams of making it big in music and being rich beyond my imagination, but God had other things in store for me. He wanted me to start this group and get wealthy in a way beyond material wealth.



The change in plans happened last week when I needed it the most. I had started writing this blog and was quite dismayed at the lack of interesting words on the page. If it was to be compared with fine art then mine was the proverbial stick figure. So just as I got to a high level of frustration, God sent me a sign in the form of a friend request.



These days I get several friend requests over the course of a few hours because that's how the IR4 group works. I get the friend request from the runner and the parent of the buddy and I make the match. The one I got this particular day came with a message which struck a familiar chord with me. He had stated he was a new runner - not unlike me. 



His name is Chris Stocum. He's not a celebrity, he's got several piercings, and is inked up. At first glance he looks like a biker. Maybe it's because he is. He has also just started running - hence the reason I am blogging about my new friend.





For Chris, the day of April 20th, 2011, was one that changed the course of his life and led him to become a runner. On that Wednesday, Chris was stopped in a construction zone. It was the kind of situation where it didn't matter how safe he had been. Like a bolt of lightning his life changed and he was in a fight - for his life.

He had been hit by a tractor-trailer. The force of the impact and weight of the semi had folded him in half. breaking everything but his arms, legs, and two ribs. When Chris finally left the hospital, he was still on a breathing machine for his collapsed lung, "drooling from brain damage," and in a wheelchair due to his broken pelvis.

Chris fought for five months and in September of 2011 he took his first steps since his accident. To me, this alone is absolutely remarkable. God had definitely put his finger on this man and said, "Your work here is not done!" He sent this man to me almost two years later as a runner wanting to run FOR someone, not to have someone run for him. He has been matched with Caleb (son of Karen Prewitt).

So while he could have quit at any time he did NOT! When I made the match of Chris and Caleb, I used the adjective "courageous" for both of these inspiring individuals and now you know why. So now I ask, who do YOU run for?


edited by Carol Dublin