Thanksgiving Reflections

Happy Thanksgiving! I am excited for the holiday season to begin! I am sitting on a plane, heading to my grandparents for turkey dinner, and reflecting on the last month since I last wrote. When I was last in Mammoth Lakes, I was doing a lot of groundwork for the bilingual tutoring program I am starting to help bridge the gap for English as a second language learners. However, my work was interrupted by a trip to New York City where my husband, Ryan, competed in the US Olympic Team Trials. Now, as I return to my work in Mammoth Lakes, I have a renewed sense of purpose as a result of the events that transpired.
November 3rd will always be a memorable day for me. Never before have I felt such an intense mix of emotions. I watched my husband, Ryan, dominate the final miles of the marathon trials, living out his dream of becoming an Olympian, and rejoice the last two miles into the finish. I was elated! It had been a long road getting to this point, mentally and physically, for both of us. Back in August, Ryan went through a slump in his training where he had no energy and his workouts were terrible. He had begun to give up hope on his dream and wonder if he should be even show up on race day. To compound the issue, I was in Europe, helpless to support him besides calling him from my computer in Belgium. I thought about those days as I watched the relief on his face when he broke the tape.
However, our joy was shattered an hour later when our agent, Ray Flynn, reported some news that a friend of ours, Ryan Shay, had died out on the course while running. We were shocked. Both of us had just gone on a run with Ryan and his wife Alicia, a good friend of mine from college, the day before the race. He seemed as healthy and excited as my husband Ryan. After the awards, I rushed to find Alicia, who had moved to a different hotel. When I found her, my heart was heavy as I witnessed my dear friend suffering so intensely.
In the next few days, we spent some time together, with little talking and mostly crying. However, one thing she said to me while we were on a run in Central Park was, “Just remember, that we have been called to live ‘for such a time as this’ “. Coming from a verse in the Bible book of Esther, it was a reminder that God has called us to live with intentionality and realize the things he has called us to do. It was something she often reminded me of while in college, before big races or important events, but in this instance it took on new meaning. Now, not only should we realize our life calling and live intentionally to serve the one who created us, but because life is unpredictable and tomorrow is not promised to us. Therefore, we should seize the days that are given to us and live intentionally with this perspective. It is a perspective I will have when I continue with my tutoring, and in doing so, I hope to honor Ryan Shay- someone who modeled living and training with single-minded focus and intentionality.