The greatest wonder of being in the husband’s hometown in Canada is being able to see and taste a part of his life I never knew before:
Today, as you drove through your old biking routes to show me where you used to train brutally up unforgiving uphill climbs totalling 150km for your Iron Man race (which is a 3.8km run, 180km bike ride followed by a full marathon after) in Lake Placid USA, I grew a newfound depth of respect for your determination and stamina in life, which you have consistently showed through your faithful obedience to God and long-suffering love in marriage. I had thought the route was over, after we had driven through a series of meandering and intimidating slopes, when you gently reminded me that that was previously just your warm-up for the “real slopes” ahead.
“Yea, these hills… they trained me real well for the Iron Man.
I used to get leg cramps after.
They were so hard, but so good.”
As we both relived your training days on the unending hills through the drive, we were both overcome with wonder at how God had brought two individuals ten thousand miles apart, through a simple love for triathlon and missions, to walk a joined journey together to serve the needy.
Thank you for sharing this precious piece of your past with me, Cliff.
Thanking God for the blue skies and beautiful day,
and the uphill climbs He uses to build character and grit in our lives.
Truly, the most brutal climbs of our lives could be preparing us
for the greatest race of our lives we would ever need to complete.
Grateful and proud to be married to you.
“No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful.
Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace
for those who have been trained by it.”
– Hebrews 12:11