Tuesday, September 10, 2013

For the love of a friend

The #victorybirds!
I've competed in a few races with mostly one thing on my mind: can I beat my personal best? Can I shave off a few minutes, seconds?

Time was the last thing on my mind during Sunday's BrainPower 5K, and when we crossed the finish line 56 minutes after we started, the only thing we were celebrating was our beautiful friend who climbed out of the jogging stroller and crossed it with us.

Us. A team of 50 #victorybirds who ran and walked the 5K with her.
Her. She's a marvel to me. Her grace, vulnerability, grittiness.

Flying into the finish line!

There will never be a finish line that rivals this one, and if there is, I can't imagine it.

We approached the last stretch.

There was a long line of local high school cheerleaders cheering everyone down the home stretch, and crying as we victoriously passed them, joining in their cheers and celebration.

Hundreds of people were lined up near the finish line. We parked the jogging stroller and she grabbed the hands of two of the friends closest to her. The rest of us crowded in and near her. The sound of the 50 of us cheering was nearly deafening and the hundreds of people in front of us joined in.

By the time she pointedly crossed under the finish banner, everyone near us was crying.

There's a lot of love here.


 Whether it's walking the streets of Haiti together, strolling down an oncologist's hallway, or crossing a finish line, every step of this journey with this friend is a gift.

(photos courtesy of the friends who were busy with their cameras!)

1 comment:

Brooke said...

Golly miss Holly.. you just make my heart smile. I must say, your encouragement and belief in me and Christ in me is such a needed boost to keep me on this trajectory. you are an AMAZING sister and I celebrate that this month I have known you for three years! Thank you for seeing when I cannot. I love you, much! and just so you know; in case you did not already; you, Sheree, Jenn and mike will definitely be present for the hair party, when the time comes. <3 you.