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| After the AA 1/2 Marathon |
This journey began on September 14, 1996 when Vanessa and I exchanged vows.
The first few lines of mine went something like this, "Vanessa, I love you! On this glorious day I receive you to myself and pour my life out to you as a faithful husband. By God’s grace alone, I vow to cherish you with a fervent and steadfast love that remains unchanged by time or circumstances."
At year fifteen, five children, and a number of incredible, daring, and sometimes disastrous adventures later, we are just learning the meaning of those brazen words passionately, yet naively spoken on that Saturday afternoon in the fall of 1996.
We won't share all the twists in the road, but we thought we might invite you in on our current adventure.
Every so often, in the life a family, you know it's the season for one member to step forward and play their part. You are joining us during Vanessa's season. Not that she hasn't been the major player all along - giving birth to, homeschooling, and raising five children; keeping track of a husband with a penchant for adventure and a visionary's dreams; running a farm, being a pastor's wife . . . No, she's played her part, but to this point it has been harmony.
Before her melody line begins, let me tell you a bit about my wife.
From the beginning a couple of things were clear in Vanessa's mind; What is worth doing is worth doing well, and, well requires a good deal of work and pain. She brought that philosophy to our marriage and to parenting. Her own dreams and ideals were completely subject to what she felt called to be to myself and her children. When others sought a break from children she looked for ways to give them more, when others found excuses to criticize their husbands she looked for ways to praise. Now, I'm not saying she has it all down, but if I had to do it all over again 1,000 times, I would do it with her!
Vanessa always has had a thing for running. On and off, since the beginning of our marriage, she would get out in the mornings and just go for the sheer pleasure of it. When she wasn't pregnant or recovering from it, she would participate in the CRIM, a local 10 mile road race run in our hometown of Flint, Michigan. Never spectacular, she always put in a good showing finishing somewhere in middle of the pack with a big smile on her face. Seeing her run always reminded me of one of my favorite movies - Chariots of Fire. As with Eric Liddell, when she runs I can tell God is smiling!
After the birth of our last child, Rhea, running became a necessity for Vanessa. With five children, a farm, her pastor husband, and the accompanying congregation, a morning's run was just the tonic for restoring a sense of balance and getting a moment to talk to God without all the clamor of life's urgent business. Her first marathon was run in San Diego, CA. A respectable time of 4.18 was nothing to write home about, but above average for women of her age. Nevertheless, she was bitten by the bug.
Over the next year, her shoes would pound out as many as sixty miles during a week as she ran, worshipped, and laughed her way to a surprising 3.30 finish in the Grand Rapids Marathon. Good enough for third place in her age category and 34th overall in the female division, she was surprised to find she still had gas to go at the end of the line. We left having no idea of how well she had actually done, but when her medal arrived in the mail a couple of weeks later I knew what I had to do.
Few people ever get the chance to take a swing at a dream. Fewer yet in mid-life with a pack of energetic children and balding husband in tow. Yet I know that this is her time. This blog will detail the next two years of our life as a family as we work together to uplift my wife and my children's mother to run her heart out through five marathons leading up to the Boston in 2014.
Sure, we have some crazy dreams - a sub 3 marathon and seeding as an elite runner would be fun, but we are really here for the journey. Up to eighty miles a week, 6 pairs of very expensive shoes, monthly trips to run Michigan's Sleeping Bear Dunes, camping out (we're cheap and poor :) at various marathons across the nation, and lots of ups, downs, and all arounds await!
We hope to emerge stronger as a family, having known what it means to rally around one of our members as a true blue team. We also desire to demonstrate what family unity and solidarity looks like in a world where it is often every man for himself.
I will be directing traffic and providing cash (donations anyone?), Shalom (14) will be overseeing the team while mom runs and promoting our brand (DTEAMrunning.com) to all who will listen (like us on FB!), Sam (12) runs our web and manages all technology and passwords, Ellie (10) will be making sure that Rhea makes it through race days and camping trips intact and present, while Joel (9), provides entertainment to Rhea and water for the rest of the team. Rhea will participate as well. On good days we will laugh with her, enjoying her oblivion and love of life, on bad days, she will provide us with an honest assessment of our need to grow in character and love.
Subscribe to our feed and we will keep you updated. All of us, except Rhea, expect to put in a few pieces over the next couple of years and we are praying that they are good for a whole lot of laughs, a few tears, and the occasional encouraging word.
