It started with an MMS at the beginning of this week. Since I am starting this cycling journey from the very beginning, getting set up with a bike and all of the gear, I have been keeping friends posted as to certain things that I still need/want, but things that I’m not willing to pay full price for. A friend sent me a picture of an ad of a windbreaker that she had received in the mail, one of the things I was holding out for. She brought to my attention that it was purple (the color for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society). The sale didn’t start until Friday, so I’ve been waiting all week to go. Finally, Friday came and I headed down to the store. I found the jacket in my size right away and snatched it up, along with a pair of riding, fingerless gloves and got in line to pay. As I was standing there, the lady in front of me turned around and saw the jacket and commented on it. I realized right then and there that I had the opportunity to tell her what I am doing., so shyly, I mentioned Team in Training and asked her if she had heard of it. She said no, so I told her what we are all about and what I am starting to train for. She looked at me and said that her neighbor’s son has Leukemia and her daughter was diagnosed last November with Thyroid Cancer. (Interesting that at Kickoff the night before, one of the people there mentioned that a family member was a Thyroid Cancer survivor, so this caught my attention.) The lady in line goes on to tell me that in December, her daughter (a young teen-ager) had gone in for surgery, and they were able to get all of the cancer. She sort of hesitated as she stated that it was a miracle, and as she hesitated, I let her know that God has a purpose for her daughter. As she was talking about it, she got teary-eyed and said she still has a hard time talking about it. Me, being the sympathetic crier that I am, also got teary-eyed and so we were both crying in the check out line, not quite blubbering messes, but I can see how easily it would have been to end up there. The experience reminded me that it’s amazing what we can find out about a complete stranger, if we will just take a risk and open up and be authentic with each other.
No comments:
Post a Comment