Father's Day Gift

I received the best Father’s Day gift late Saturday morning. Kyle was scheduled to head for a friend’s cabin in the woods that would have him returning home late Sunday afternoon. We were chatting as he played video games. Kyle’s huge on creature comforts, so it has always surprised me that he enjoys heading to a rustic cabin in the woods. I questioned him on the pending trip and he said, “I’m not going.” I responded, “Why not?” Answer, “Because I want to be home for Father’s Day.” It truly made my weekend.

Today we heard the words of the Apostle Paul,
“…but we also boast in our sufferings
Knowing that suffering produces endurance
And endurance produces character
And character produces hope
And hope does not disappoint us.”

(To the devout Christians checking in, please forgive my omission of the all important “because” that follows.)

13 years ago this summer I selected that passage and then read it at my brother’s funeral mass. The words were so appropriate, as I watched Dennis suffer and physically deteriorate through years of terminal illness. Through that suffering he most definitely gained endurance, character and, yes, hope. The passage is so true and so perfectly representative of the persuasiveness of Paul’s frequent logical progressions.

On a somewhat different plane, this passage goes a long way in explaining my attraction to the Ironman challenge – a challenge that I’ve decided to chase again this year (hello “Chesapeakeman” on September 27). My mind has gone a complete 360 degrees during this roller coaster ride of a year. My body is cooperating right now, and I just wasn’t happy setting my sights at less than the ultimate goal.

There is beauty in extreme endurance sports. Not so much in the races themselves, but in the journey to get there. I’m going to ante up again. I’ll seek perfection and surely fall short. But there’s more to be gained from quest than there is to be lost by failure. For me, a form of redemptive suffering that will ultimately produce hope. The battle is not to make it to the finish, but to the starting line.

Peace.