What do you celebrate?
I celebrate family and friends who surround us with love. I celebrate a town I have been a part of my whole life, where I can pick up the phone to get a medical answer, but if I need to go in, the drive is short and the warmth and support is over-flowing. I celebrate two children who smile and cry and try. I celebrate their awesome teachers. I celebrate community. I celebrate faith. I celebrate health and sickness, happiness and sadness, gain and loss, for all have yielded growth. I celebrate you – you are a wonderful and beautiful creation.
I have gotten a lot of questions about my participation in The Celebrate Life Half Marathon. So, I feel inclined to share a little, with an admitted plug for anyone who would like to contribute to the cause. The image is the letter to serve as reflecting the organization’s 501C not-for-profit status. That’s the fancy way of saying – all the money raised goes to the cause.
One of the reasons the Celebrate Life Half Marathon is so powerful is that it is a Celebration of the lives of those who have passed and those who are still pushing onward. While it raises money for those battling Cancer, it is also about more than that challenge. It is about the celebration of all that life is – of our faith, our communion with one another and our power to spread hope – in the lives of others and in our own lives. I am confident that all challenges I face today or may face in the future, I will do it with confidence in the Lord, even when I may not know it.
This year, my pace will be slower (perhaps walking much of it), and my expression perhaps a bit less radiant with some injuries. It will still be a celebration. No matter what we are overcoming, we are empowered by hope.
We can celebrate with a half marathon, but it is every step, even if taken from a wheelchair, hospital bed or from a place of sorrow, from whatever we face, that is a milestone.
I think most of us have in some way been impacted by Cancer. It has touched my family, who has both survivors of Cancer (my mother) and those who were taken from us by it (my maternal grandfather). I have witnessed heroic battles, faced with smiles and tears. Some of those battles ended in the loss of life, but Cancer did not win. Their life’s lights remain. Right now, there are people I know seeking treatment and awaiting test results. Events like these remind us that every moment of our lives is an opportunity to breathe hope.
In addition to my individual fundraiser –https://www.crowdrise.com/debharrisoncelebratelife, I am looking for company sponsors who may be willing to provide some funds. The request is for at least $50. If donating is an option, any amount would be greatly appreciated. The chairperson of the organization/race director is also a survivor herself. I befriended her through doing the event, and I am continually impressed by her commitment to making the Celebrate Life Half meaningful and in helping people.
You may reach out to me if you would like to donate through my individual fundraiser for the event instead. Either way, money goes directly to the organization; it is not something you need to give me to give the organization.
You can check out the event at Celebratelifehalfmarathon.org
Please share with those who may be interested.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3GwjfUFyY6M – Yep, I went there.
On This Path 