I AM THE CURE

What happens when over 40,000 people come together on one morning? Over 2,000,000 dollars is raised for breast cancer research and funding. Lives are changed. Hope is restored.

This is the second year my mom and I have participated in the Komen Race for the Cure. It is such a moving experience for me that it's sometimes hard to put into words. For my mom, this is the first year she participated in the survivor parade. In this picture, all the people in pink are the survivors. They make a pink ribbon and people take pictures from the sky. Every survivor gets a copy of the photo mailed to them. It was amazing to see the women who had beaten this disease for 50 years, and equally amazing to see the women who are fighting hard just a year after their diagnosis. I wasn't nearly as emotional this year and I was last year - at least until I saw my mom in the crowd with all the survivors. Then I pretty much lost it.

Next year, mom and I will walk not just for her, but for her sister, Vikki, who was diagnosed with the same exact breast cancer as my mom just last week. They are like night and day as far as how they handle things, so it's going to be a huge struggle for her; even more than it was for mom. She has surgery in early may and then we'll know more about what she's actually facing.

The new mantra of The Komen Foundation is I AM THE CURE. And it's true. This is from their website:

"I AM THE CURE.™

Komen for the Cure has developed a compelling educational initiative called I AM THE CURE.™ This program empowers people with the knowledge that early detection truly makes a difference. More importantly, it motivates people to take an active role in their own breast health. These words, and the simple steps that lead to early detection, will come to life as thousands of Komen Race for the Cure® participants make I AM THE CURE.™ their rallying cry on Race day. "

It's a rally cry and a cause I can get behind. For my mother. For my aunt. For myself. For the millions of women and men around the world facing this disease and winning every day.

The Easter Chaos

I work at a church, so I think I should be used to all the people that come out of the woodwork twice a year for Easter and Christmas. And, in some ways, I am used to the crowds and the way we make those two holidays huge at the church. But, at the same time, those crowds confuse me.

If I was a marginal Christian, or someone who didn't even consider myself a Christian, but thought it was 'good' to go to church, I don't know that I would pick the two holidays that bookend the life of Christ as my services. I mean, think about it. If you don't believe Christ is who he said he was, then wouldn't Easter be the most offensive day to you? Why do all of these people come to church just to be told that they are going to mess up, their lives are a mess, and that someone had to DIE just so they could live? I don't know why that would be the message any rational person would want to hear once a year, without hearing all the other stuff. These are the services that are most exclusively about Christ and what He did and what His life meant. These are services about serving, loving, being a positive impact on the community - these services are exclusively about Christ.

But then, it hit me, and it all made sense. Could it be that the longing for God is so deep and real in each person that they can't help but be drawn to the story of Christ? Could it be that, even when we try out hardest to fight the influence of God in our lives, He still brings us so close to Him for two days a year that people who couldn't care less are suddenly hungry for the message? And, because He is God and He knows what is going on in the hearts of men, He ordains that the fringe of people that only come to His house of worship on Christmas and Easter will hear about the most important and greatest miracles of Christ's life - His virgin birth, His sinless life, His death on a cross, and, most importantly, the empty tomb that could not hold Him down.

It's like the verse in Ecclesiastes: He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end. (3:11)

Even when people do not want to follow Christ, even when they want to live their own life and do their own thing, God has set eternity in the hearts of each person to draw them to Him when their hearts are the most willing to hear His story.