Pastor Rick's Hope

“but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength.  They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.” –Isaiah 40:31

It was the last training run before the Rock & Roll marathon in San Diego, and I began to worry about whether we could finish the race two weeks from then.  Pastor Rick was beginning to grow pale as he looked at the ground passing by, and had long passed the point where pain kept him from speaking anymore.  Already I was more than impressed at what he had accomplished – defying the words of a doctor who told him years before that he could never run again after an accident where his leg was crushed between two cars.  Two months previously he completed a 10K race in less than an hour, but now he wanted to run a marathon!  I was experienced enough to know that it usually takes about six months to appropriately train for a marathon, and we only had about two months to train.  Despite my reservations, Pastor Rick had the faith to run – and I decided that I would go the distance with him.

As we concluded our run at the 20^th mile Pastor Rick was dizzy with hypoglycemia and as we drove to the nearest Jamba Juice for a quick sugar fix I wondered how we were going to make the last 6.2 miles of the race in San Diego.  Even with the support of all the energy drinks and food handouts during the race those last six miles would be difficult to say the least.  Gabe, the third member of our group also had his own worries as his girlfriend was confident he would emerge from the race a cripple for life.  While we had the strength to run for 20 miles without stopping, our slower pace over the last few miles made every impact of the pavement more unbearable on our weary joints.  It was tempting to run ahead to find relief more quickly, but we decided as brothers in Christ that we would finish this race together or not at all.  Based on the pain we all experienced in that 20 mile training run, we knew that we needed God’s grace to finish this marathon.

Two weeks later the three of us arrived in San Diego where 20,000 other runners made traffic nearly impossible to navigate, and kept us from arriving to the race on time!  We arrived at the start line literally as they were pulling it down, and without time to stretch or prepare at all we were the last three people to begin.  As we began the race shoulder to shoulder we prayed and dedicated it God, trusting Him for the inspiration and grace to finish.  At first we could only hear the bands lining the course playing faintly in the distance because they were already packing up to leave by the time we had arrived.  But soon we realized that it was a blessing to start late, as we began passing other runners instead of being passed for the next twenty miles!  Notwithstanding a heckler with a bullhorn who kept yelling how difficult the next sections of the course would be from various locations, all three of us ran with confidence and good fellowship – until mile 22.

Suddenly Pastor Rick began to slow drastically, and his pace reduced to miniature strides as he hunched over facing the ground.  We officially arrived at ‘the wall’, the point where stiffened muscle paralyzed by lactic acid simply refuses to respond.  Beginning to veer to the sideline, Gabe and I quickly surrounded Pastor Rick and encouraged him, “This is what we came for – the race begins now!  We already knew it was going to be painful!”  For Pastor Rick, this race was like a fast where he was praying and interceding for others that God had placed on his heart.  Instead of focusing on the pain he began to pray silently for those people as Gabe and I prayed and spoke the Word of God over him.  The next several miles went painfully slow as the impact of every step intensified; until we noticed some of the other runners begin to speed up.  Gabe and I looked at them and observed, “You know why they are speeding up?  It’s because they have HOPE – they know they are going to finish!!”

Pastor Rick was too weary and lost in prayer to hear everything Gabe and I were talking about, but the word ‘HOPE’ resonated deeply in his heart, and God spoke to him “…You have been carrying others this entire time – now I am going to carry you.”  Feeling the power of God lift him from his slumped position, Pastor Rick set his eyes on the road ahead as Gabe and I kept encouraging him.  Even though what we thought to be the finish line was just an illusion, Pastor Rick kept moving ahead with an intense resolve – and the three of us crossed the finish line with our hands locked and raised in victory.  Pastor Rick’s wife had secretly flown into San Diego to meet him at the finish, and there was a teary eyed reunion as a pale yet victorious Pastor Rick remained silent for nearly an hour.  Calling it one of the greatest moments of his life, he wanted others to experience what he did.  Three months later he formed a running group at church called ‘Hope’s Calling’ – where 30 mostly inexperienced young adults would complete a half marathon with only a few months training.