It is that time of the year—Relay for Life.
I don’t know how it is in your part of the country, but in Garner, North Carolina, it seems like everybody is involved in Relay for Life in one way or another. After all the counting is done, this small town will raise nearly a quarter of a million dollars for the American Cancer Society—the largest contributor in all of Wake County.
Jane and I have been involved in Relay for Life through our church, community, schools, and Rotary for years, but this year it was a little different. My daughter, Elaine, came to walk ‘the survivor’s walk.’ She is an 18-month survivor of breast cancer and announced that to the crowd, along with scores of others; and with each announcement came the audience’s applause. It seems as if everyone there was ‘touched’ by this scourge. And each witness became a sign and a hope that one day cancer will be defeated.
When Elaine came near the end of the survivor’s walk, she noticed me standing along the path, applauding. She began to weep, and motioned us to come and walk with her. Jane and I, with our arms around our daughter, walked and wept together—thanking God for all the kind providences that have presided over all our lives. It was a good ‘moment’—a divine moment.
And we intend to ‘walk’ as much as we can, for as long as we can, and whenever we can, not only for this cause, but for the love of a daughter who looks to the future with radiance and resolve. And I suspect that all the moments left to us in this journey will be grace-filled moments—and one of them came this morning after church. A lady who was at the event said, “It was so good to see you walking with your daughter on Friday night.” I smiled and said, “Thank you… I have been walking with her in just about every corner of her life’s experiences, and that ‘walk’ was the most precious.”
So, walk often with those you love. Enjoy the trip. It’ll last forever and ever!
A Little Different
When it’s your daughter
out there in the Cancer Walk,
it’s a little different.
Probably it won’t be out there
‘cause you’ll be in there,
holding hands with
your eighteen-month survivor
as her children applaud each mile.
That’s what we do
down in Garner, NC—
walk and run relays
to stomp out disease by any name,
raise $$ by the thousands
to ease the pain of others.
It’s a little different
when the whole town comes out
and says We’ve had it with this disease,
enough already—we are the victors!
People like this stare cancer down,
and when they see a father crying
as he proudly strides
With his 46 yr old daughter,
her mother overwhelmed with gratitude
as the smile on that daughter
swells in pride and profound relief—
like I say, they stare cancer down
down here in Garner, North Carolina,
and restore families
to the thrill of life.
Men and women of faith
see this as a divine parade,
a memorial to the miracle of healing.
The secular world says
No problem with that—
let us help, too—
we’re part of this family.
It was a little different
on this particular Friday night—
you see, it was my daughter out there,
out there a long time,
preparing for this walk.
There were moments
we didn’t know
if the calendar would give us this night.
We were out there—
lost and stumbling—
but on this particular Friday night
we were very much together.
Through my tears
I could see the incredible beauty
on the perfect body
of my holy child-
I was and am
the proudest father in the world.
Written by Uncle Bill Killian and Chuck Killian
For my daughter and niece, Elaine Killian Olsen
Garner, North Carolina
Tuesday, May 1, 2012
“What… do you just walk all day long?”