Mindy Caliguire - Discovering Soul Care

DISCOVERING SOUL CARE

W idely considered one of the most difcult marathons in the world, the Boston Marathon is for only the most elite runners. In fact, a qualifying time from another marathon is required even to enter the race. An infamous ve-mile series of inclines toward the nish line starts at mile sixteenright before runners hit the wall. They call the last and longest of the hills Heartbreak Hill.

In 1995, having just moved to Massachusetts with my husband to begin a new ministry, I had the opportunity to watch a portion of the Boston Marathon right around the corner from our apartment in Newton. We watched from the edge of Commonwealth Avenue, at about mile twentyright at Heartbreak Hillof the 26.2 mile race.

Jam-packed with onlookers, parties and bands, the crowds on the street had been waiting for hours in anticipation of the runners arrival. But an expectant silence came over the crowd at the appearance of the helicopters overhead and media trucks heralding the arrival of the rst competitors. The short-lived hush quickly shifted to wild cheering as the frontrunners appeared. These runners were practically sprinting, despite the distance already covered. They represented the top marathon runners in the world.

One of those frontrunners immediately caught my attention. The man was from Kenya, and he was part of the lead pack. But something was wrongand soon, to our collective horror, we realized he was struggling to stay upright. The other runners swerved to avoid him; then the crowd on the side of the street parted. This pain-ridden athlete stumbled, then faltered over the curbside and collapsed on someones front lawn.

Laying there on the grass, twitching violently, his eyes rolled back into their sockets, having lost control of his senses, I thought he was dying. We all watched in fear and silence as an emergency team located him, wrapped him in a foil survival blanket and whisked him away in an ambulance. Later we learned that he recovered and would be ne but he was clearly not going to nish that race that day. He had lost the essential balance between an aggressive yet sustainable pace, and Heartbreak Hill had gotten the best of him.

As I watched that elite runner in April of 1995, I had no idea that I was headed for my own spiritual and emotional Heartbreak Hill. Like that marathoner, I too would push beyond my reserve and lose sustainability. And although I was a relatively accomplished ministry leader, I would also wind up twitching on the sidelines of my own life, desperate for someone to hand me a survival blanket and unsure whether I would ever compete again.

Thankfully I too have been restored to health and am able to run again. But I learned lessons from my collapse, lessons that fuel my de-sire to help people nd a way of life, a way of being, that not only keeps them from falling out of the race but enables them to complete it.

Today I meet many peopleoften forerunners in their eldswho nd themselves nearing exhaustion. They may not be on the sidelines or stumbling noticeably, but far too many are dangerously low on their reserves, running on fumes. Some are smack in the middle of their own spiritual Heartbreak Hill.

That may or may not be where you are today. If not, thats great! You may have noticed others on the sidelines and you dont want to end up there yourself, or maybe you can begin to feel the lactic acid building up in your soul. For you, this study can be how not to head that way.

But if you identify with the fainting runner, then it is my prayer that the following pagesinfused by Gods Spiritmay serve as refreshing water for your thirsty soul. You have been running hard, and youve run a long way, but the end is nowhere in sight, and it may be uphill from here. Even so, there is hope for your soul!