Dear pre-Race Kristen,
There you were standing at the top of the hill looking down upon the longest rattlesnake you have ever seen in your life (but let’s be real, it is the first one you have ever seen). You were determined to get to Triple Falls for the breathtaking view of three connected waterfalls.
The only way to get to Triple Falls was around this rattlesnake. The snake was not paying attention, so you decided to make your way over the snake. But instead, you lost your footing and ate it on the hill. You landed at the bottom of the rocky trail hill, the rattlesnake had vanished, and there you were with two broken gladsoles sandals and a busted open thumb losing a ton of blood.
Amanda immediately lamented with “we should have brought the bandaids” which you simply nodded in agreement, realizing that even when parents attempt to baby you, they are usually right [thanks for always babying us Dave; you can now loudly cheer your “I told you so!”]. As you are sitting there in the middle of the trail with hikers much older than you walking around you, you are losing a pint of blood from your ripped open thumb and you are trying to figure out how to re-tie your laces on your broken sandals so you can make it the two miles back to the car.
Sounds crazy right?! Exactly. It sounds crazy because it is embellished. The rattlesnake did not exist. And the loss of a pint of blood is not real. But everything else, yeah, it happened. You really did sit on the side of a rocky trail with a busted open thumb and you really did sit there trying to figure out how to re-tie your broken sandals to make it back to the car. Every hiker passing asked if you needed anything and if you were okay because hikers seriously are the best people you will ever meet. And you really did see some spectacular sites before your fall down the hill.
[Left: Columbia River looking into Washington; Center: Horsetail Falls; Right: Ponytail Falls]
Remember what you walked away with from the morning of hiking in the Columbia River Gorge with your best friend. You got a pretty humorous story out of it. Just hours later, you were laughing hysterically about it as you talked with Dave about embellishing stories and cleaned out your busted thumb on the living room floor. When Judy came home a couple hours later and asked how your hiking was, the three of you looked at each other and you started with “Don’t worry, everything’s fine, but…” and proceeded to tell her a semi embellished story of what happened before telling her the real story. As the night wore on, the story just got funnier.
But most importantly, you learned that stories are important. Your best friend’s story is important, that person across from you on the bus who looks angry has an important story, and that person who you’ve never met has an important story.
But also, YOU have an important story. Everything you have been through in the past is important to your story. Broken relationships, broken friendships, depression, anxiety, learning to let go of control; it is all important to your story. It all matters because Abba has an exact plan for your life and everything in your life plays a part in that plan. Some of the tough things you have been through could help change the lives of others you encounter. And some of the broken places you have been in your life could shed light on someone you encounter. Abba has a perfect plan and that perfect plan includes your story for a reason.
“Perhaps you were made for a time such as this” [Esther 4:14] and you were made for this time; you were made for this Race, for this route, for this squad, for this team, and for each person you will encounter. Remember that because it is true.
Love,
Your pre-Race self
PS: Dave and Judy, you truly are one of a kind. Thanks for enabling the lesson I learned in this humorous hiking story. Thanks for the pile of bandaids and the bowl of water to clean out my poor thumb.
PPS: Amanda, thank you from the bottom of my heart for not laughing at me after I ate it on the hill! My pride greatly appreciates you.
