It was hot outside. One of those days where it’s hard to think about anything other than staying cool. It was difficult to distinguish between the feeling of dripping sweat and the twinge of swarming flies. We were making the all-too-familiar trek into town, when a spot of wifi allowed the news to push itself into my hot-but happy-world.
It was the news I assume every racer dreads: an emergency at home. My brother, my hero, was not doing well. He was in and out of the hospital, and in the midst of total darkness. Satan had a plan, and he intended to pull us all down. And for that moment, for that day, for that week, my world was shaken. At the risk of sounding cliché, it was do or die. It was time for my faith to really step in. I couldn’t be there for my brother or my family. I’m thousands of miles away from home, and it was all I could do to focus on the task in front of me. So I pulled onions from the garden, and I laughed along to jokes, and I played the part. But my mind was elsewhere. My heart was at home. The only option I had was to pray. (It’s interesting that this is just what God has been teaching me so far on the race: to completely put my trust in Him. To wholly confide in Him, and trust that He will take care of everything. Thank you, Jesus, for preparing me for this moment).
So I pulled onions, and prayed for my brother. I laughed along to jokes, and prayed for complete healing. I played the part, and prayed for the darkness to be driven away.
The beauty of it all, was the gift of friends. It was the friends who showed me God’s love and care. It was the friends who prayed for my brother after I got off of a blurry-eyed phone call. It was the friends who remembered him and asked about him and prayed for me at cafés. It was the friends who listened and then lifted my spirits, who made me really laugh. It was those friends that were reminders of God’s care: reminding me that this wasn’t a surprise to God when I left for the race. Reminding me that He has great plans for my brother.
And so it was on a hot day, through the gift of FaceTime, that I witnessed a miracle in Albania. It was in his face, his laugh, his spirit. After years and a very hard week, just like that, I had my brother back. My joyful, hilarious, supremely kind brother: he came back to us. He was pure light, the very essence of Jesus.
I witnessed the miracle of healing. I witnessed the miracle of true friendship. I witnessed the miracle of complete trust. I witnessed God’s faithfulness to a faithful people.
(and it’s only month two! whoa.)
So here’s to my brother (and anyone out there in their own “total darkness”), the delight of our family: may you revel in consuming joy. May you find yourself drenched with the love of God. May you always know how loved you are.
XO
