Joy Unspeakable

“Love should be shown without pretending. Hate evil, and hold on to what is good. Love each other like the members of your family. Be the best at showing honor to each other. Don’t hesitate to be enthusiastic—be on fire in the Spirit as you serve the Lord! Be happy in your hope, stand your ground when you’re in trouble, and devote yourselves to prayer. Contribute to the needs of God’s people, and welcome strangers into your home.”Romans 12:9-13(CEB)

Is there anything better than sleeping in your own bed after being away from home?  I feel the joy of this after being part of Relay Iowa, the world’s LONGEST relay. I impulsively signed up for this and had no idea what I was getting into.  It turned out to be a team of twelve runners divided into two vans.  Each van took a turn running a twenty-five to thirty-five mile stretch across Iowa, while the other van of runners ate or rested. The other van started us off  and we drove to Anthon and waited for them to arrive. There was plenty of shade, a nice breeze, and a cheap meal so things were off to a good start.  

Part 1-Anthon-Ida Grove

At about 1pm on Friday, our van’s first runner started off carrying the GPS gadget that was our “baton” and enabled others to see our progress.  Our van drove ahead one mile and waited and then the next runner got out to take their turn running a mile.  We did this over and over until we reached our ending town. Then the other van took over while we drove to Lake City, where an incredibly sweet mom of one of the team members welcomed us strangers into her home.  She graciously offered showers, towels, a yummy meal (with the best potato salad and caramel rolls), and a place to rest until around 10:30pm.  Then  we packed up to meet our team to begin running again.

Part 2-Lake City-Dayton

It was much cooler and we felt refreshed to start again.  We found a radio station playing 90s country music and everyone was being silly and singing along.  The mood felt happy and everyone was having fun.  You lose track of how many times you run your mile.  At one point, I thought I had finished for the night. It was around 4am and I felt exhausted and my legs were sore and tired.  I took off my shoes and then realized I still had one more turn. I did it grudgingly and felt such relief when we finally arrived in Dayton around 4:30am.  I crashed and opened my eyes to hear we were on my street in Jewell. I was in a state of exhaustion/confusion as I tried to figure out what to do first at home.  I took off my sweaty clothes and threw those and my dirty clothes from my bag into the washer and went to sleep for a few hours.  I woke up at 7 feeling groggy and showered, ate, and repacked.  

Part 3-Ellsworth to Eldora

By the time we started running at 9:30 a.m. in Ellsworth, it was hot and windy and by body was hurting and I was getting really slow.  After a few turns, one member of our group was having terrible trouble with her hip and clearly needed to sit out, which meant our turns came up sooner.  The sun felt brutal and I was questioning how I got myself into this disaster.  

No one else on my team was complaining. They were a very upbeat group, which helped in a way that is hard to describe.  This was a tremendous lesson in the power of others.  Moods are contagious and without a companion in my grumbling and miserableness, I kept going. Being happy is such a simple way to serve others and to show the people around you love and honor.

It says in Hebrews 10:24  (ERV), “we should think about each other to see how we can encourage each other to show love and do good works.”  My team’s ability to be happy was the encouragement that got me through my hardest part of the relay.   

When we got to Eldora, it was my turn to do the last shift to end at the city park.  I’m sure my body language and facial expressions showed how I felt so a few others offered to do it for me.  Everyone was as hot and as worn out as me so I knew I needed to rally through it. Despite a wrong turn, I eventually saw the team and knew I was close to the end.   A few team members came down to cheer me on.  Randy, our van leader, started running up the rest of the hill with me to keep me going. I just handed him the GPS and started walking.  I thought it was silly for both of us to be running when only one person had to do it!  We then drove to Hudson to take our break at a dairy there. We had time for ice cream, water, a nap,  free chiropractic adjustments, and some rest in the shade.

Part 4-Hudson-Independence

We started our turn again around 7 p.m. and the sun was no longer beating on us.  My spirits were buoyed by the energy of everyone else. While my miles continued to get slower, the others sped up with their enthusiasm in watching the GPS to see how we were gaining on another team and getting road kills (the term used when you pass a runner from another team).  Our non-running driver offered to do some half mile stints to help us out since we were down one runner.  We shared smiles as she carried a different beverage each turn, including a can of Starbuck’s mocha doubleshot.  This turn ended in Independence, where we ate, showered, and got to sleep around 1:30 a m.  

Part 5-Manchester-Epsworth

We were startled awake at 3:30 a.m. when we were told it was time to leave to meet up with the other van and start again.  No one seemed ready to go, but ready or not, it was our turn.  For much of this leg, I ran and them got back in and fell completely asleep. I’m sure my  open-mouth sleeping and drooling was a real treat. We ran in the early morning and beat the heat and got to see the sun come up.  Randy offered to take an extra long turn so the rest of us could see The Field of Dreams. He was also our comic relief as he began decorating the outside of our van with the things he found along the way, including a dead duck and two different shoes. We finally reached our ending spot of Epsworth at 9:30am.  

Part 6-Epsworth-Dubuque

The two vans joined together to run our final leg. Everyone had a few more aches and pains, but the end was in sight and with the whole team together, our turn now came once every 10 runners instead of every 5.  It was getting nasty hot again and we encountered many hills and traffic through Dubuque, but we finally crossed the finish line altogether as a team at about 12:45 p.m..  Finally it was over and time to come home!

I’m thankful for the experience and the rare treat of time with friends.  Throughout the relay, I saw love in action.  I saw it in the fun we had with each other, the lack of complaining, the laughter, chats, and singing. I felt it when we were offered food and water and thanked for participating and shown how the race proceeds help an organization in South Africa. I saw it in the way my team helped each other, offered encouragement, and stepped up to take the worst parts of the race.  I pray I can remember how I was blessed by the others throughout this event so I could make it through.  In the same ways, I can be a blessing to others simply by being happy, helpful, and enthusiastic about life.