Don't Go It Alone

I was at a track meet, waiting to watch my son pole vault, and I heard a male voice behind me say, “Come on Annie, you’ve got this.”

Something about how he said it made me turn around to look. Annie was running and she was beautiful, doe like. Her stride was just sort of marvelous to watch. You could tell she was going all out and pacing herself at the same time. This was not a sprint—she was in it for the distance.

I watched as Annie ran around the track again. And again there were people along the inside of the track, finding her ear. Finding it right when she needed them, saying things like…

You’ve got this.
Push it.
These are the laps that count.

There were other runners too and their people running alongside them on the inner track saying…

Look around the corners
Just 10 quick steps
Move your arms
This is the lap that counts
Breathe

Annie ran 8 laps and she finished beautifully. I don’t know this girl and I don’t know her story. But, what I do know is that she was running the race she was built for. And I also know that she never could have done it alone.

Watching her and hearing her people encourage her… it moved me.

I’ve got this amazing friend who is battling Stage 3 breast cancer right now. And one of the most incredible things I’ve watched her do (there are many) is how she’s allowing her tribe to help her, allowing us to lock shields with her in the fight. She’s letting us be part of her journey so that her victory will be ours as well. And that’s beauty.

We need to let those people in our corner, be OUR people. We need to allow them to tell us to…

look around the corner
push it
take 10 quick steps to get through this small part of the journey
breathe

I cried watching Annie race. I cried because the human spirit is so beautiful and fragile and wondrous all at once. And I cried because I could see the strings of support pushing and pulling her to the finish line.

Don’t go it alone. We were never meant to.

A version of this was originally published on my personal blog --> http://www.brigettaschwaiger.com/running-your-race-with-help/