It's time for Relay For Life again!

Last year, Ann and I did Relay For Life together. It's an annual event (held at many locations around the country) that raises money for the American Cancer Society. For 12 hours (overnight), each team is asked to have at least one team member walking around a track.



I was so proud last year to walk with Ann because she is a cancer survivor! Not only did she survive cancer itself; she's also survived all that came along with that--the difficulty of infertility, and the emotional toll of dealing with such a serious illness. To keep on going even when it's harder than anyone knows--That's survival.

This year I'm so proud to walk with Ann again, because I think that our "shared pregnancy" is an awesome sign of God's redemption. Cancer may have taken Ann's womb, but it didn't take away her dream to have more children. This isn't an easy path for Ann! Bearing her own children would have been whole lot simpler. Even giving up would at times have been easier. But she and her husband desired a larger family, and they have made the emotional and financial sacrifices to partner with God in seeing that dream fulfilled. That's pretty awesome. That's survival.

God made a way for them, so in the end...cancer didn't win! As we walk together this year, I want people to see that there is HOPE for those who suffer from cancer! Ann is living proof of it, and it's such a joy to walk alongside her (figuratively and literally!)

Before I ask you for a donation (you knew it was coming, right?), I'll give you full disclosure. At the Relay, I'll be six weeks away from our due date, and there is no way I'm staying up all night this year! So Ann and I will go to the event and spend a few hours there, and then we'll go home so we can get a good night's sleep while the rest of our team fulfills the commitment to keep someone walking around the track all night!

The purpose of Relay For Life is to raise money for the American Cancer Society. I'd prefer not to post the direct link to my donation page here, as it has too much personal information on it. But if I "know" you (even just through the Internet!), please leave me a comment here, or email me at cbethblog@gmail.com, if you'd like to donate. I'll send you a link to my page. You can donate as little as $10, and every little bit helps!

The other option is to purchase a luminaria. This is a paper bag that has sand and a candle in it. The luminarias will be placed all around the track where we have the event, and when it gets dark, they'll all be lit. Each luminaria is labeled "In Honor of" or "In Memory of" someone you know or have known with cancer. It's a really beautiful way to make a donation--and the $6 for each luminaria goes toward my fundraising goal! Again, please comment here, or email me at cbethblog@gmail.com, for luminaria information. There's a cool photo of the luminarias from last year's Relay on Ann's blog.

Join us in the dream of a world without cancer!