Last Saturday, I volunteered for a "Pieathlon" (Sprint Triathlon) hosted at the Waukee Family YMCA. The Pieathlon is a charity event in honor of cancer survivorship and the proceeds go to cancer research. Oh yeah, the pie part? It's dessert at the end, adding a little bit of fun to the day and a yummy reward for participants.
My role: to cheer and guide runners. My location: the corner of Carefree Lane. No biggie, right? I can ring a cowbell, shout out my encouragement and send 136 runners around the corner and down the next street.
Did I mention it was in the 40's with a strong, gusty northern wind? Yep, thankful for my hood and the gloves that were still stuck in my jacket from our last snow. Prepared for the weather, but little did I realize the impact it would have on me to stand and watch the runners proceed down the block towards me.
Down they came. One or two at a time, they trickled by me. Differing levels of fatigue showing on their faces, as they pushed through the last leg of the tri. Amidst their physical exertion, nearly all of them found the energy to flash a smile at my cheers. So many eyes expressed gratefulness as I guided their steps and they could just keep moving. Voices cried "Thank you!" and even a few hands extended to share celebratory high five's. Wow, I couldn't believe how important my little role was.
No, I wasn't a participant who swam 400 yards, then biked 12.2 miles, followed by a 5k run. No, I wasn't the event organizer. No, I didn't research a cure for cancer or for that matter even give a donation that day.
In actuality my small role was simply to cheer and guide on the corner of Carefree Lane. From the faces of the runners, I know it wasn't a small role at all.
"And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us..." Hebrews 12:2
There's a destiny and plan for each of us, a course to be run. The reality is we all get tired along the way and need someone standing at the corner cheering us on and guiding us in our next steps. We can be that for each other and it's no small role at all.
Who can you cheer on today?
