Back in the saddle with some travel this week! Thanks for reading and following along here. I greatly appreciate each message and comment you all take the time to do. I never started this for accolades, but I knew there would be readers and listeners who would be encouraged by it. So, thank you for being here. Last week was a long read, I know, but I really couldn’t leave much out of the story. Hoping I didn’t lose any readers over the length, I have a bit of a shorter story from a short but packed trip this week, and another trip down memory lane. Read on to be introduced to the most memorable person I’ve ever met on a plane. Enjoy.

Monday morning came earlier than it has for some time. My black carry-on set was prepped, along with today’s travel clothes and cowboy hat. Dutchy snoozed and stirred in the dim light I had to get myself ready at 4 am. When the suitcases were at the door, she was too, and leaped outside to sit proudly by my truck tire. Oh how she wanted to go, too (break my heart). I lured her back into the motorhome with a couple of peanut butter pretzels, kissed her forehead, and reminded her I would be back in 2 sleeps. My mom used to help us understand time for important events with this method.

After quieting Dutchy back to sleep, and turning out the porch lights, I took a moment to look up and take in all the stars. Man, you can see so many, so brightly out here. Breathe in. Breathe out. Quiet, peace, stillness all around me. And I was heading into the belly of the whale:  I-10 to the airport. Phoenix traffic hasn’t intimidated me much. I lived in Dallas right after college, and that seemed way more daunting. There’s usually a flow in Phoenix but there are always more people than I predict. It’s 5:30 am. Where are all these people going? And why are we stopping so much?

Travel invigorates me in that way. Many times, I ask myself those questions, not just about the cars, but also the people in the airport. I try to make a point to see someone who thinks no one sees them, many times custodians, and thank them or simply say hello. The chance opened with a young lady who was quite confused as to which security line she needed to be in. I looked at her boarding pass, and pointed her to the general security line, for which she was very grateful. A nearby business traveler thanked me for my kindness, though I really didn’t do much. I told him, “It feels good to help someone, and we all need it sometimes.”

Several people have asked me how I handle travel and keeping animals at home. And my answer is with a little help. While in Nebraska, my parents would watch Dutch and take care of Cash, but now that we are in Arizona, Gram’s gets the call. An equally gritty and pretty woman, Grams loves to work and be needed. And I definitely need her. Grams has a way with animals, very trusting and calm, unless you’re a bull or rogue cow causing trouble. I usually get on the floor with Dutch before she goes to bed to rub her ears and tell her how perfect she is. Grams said, “I think I draw the line there.” Nonetheless, I knew she would have it all covered, which gives me great peace going out on the road.

Breezing through security, with time to spare, my homemade espresso was doing all the work I needed it to. I try not to buy coffee in the airport, although sometimes it is necessary for survival. Sitting at my gate, I quietly watch, sometimes scrolling, but doing my best to think or read instead. Being this close to Christmas, the free movies are usually pretty good on the plane, but not at 8:00 am. I don’t want to waste a fresh thinking brain in the morning or miss a conversation I should have.

I’ve had some memorable introductions in planes and airports, but not as many as you might think. I won’t drag you down with some of the more discouraging and reoccurring scenarios that play out, but rather, the most memorable person I’ve ever sat next to on a plane.

It was a connecting flight to Asheville, NC in the fall of 2018. I was on my way to see my youngest sister, Grace. I think I even had a switched connection due to weather or something, which makes this meeting even more divinely orchestrated. Just my experience, but usually if I meet someone of high character worth talking to on a plane, it’s in Main Cabin, not First Class. This moment proved my hypothesis, as I was seated fairly far back in the Main Cabin at a window seat. A man in his 70’s, smaller stature, but in good shape, with salt and pepper hair situated next to me. As he reached for something in his bag, I noticed a colored cancer stretchy bracelet on his wrist. I asked him who was fighting the battle. And he calmly and peacefully said, “I am.”

I knew I wasn’t going to read a page in my book, nor did I care. He was very open to tell me about his terminal diagnosis that had come about a year and a half ago. He wasn’t depressed or saddened at all. The song, “Live Like You Were Dyin’” came to mind, so I asked what he did after he found out. He chuckled and said, “Well I wanted to be a marathon runner, so I decided I better do that.” Newly into trail running, I exclaimed “Hey I’m a runner too! I just finished an 18-mile trail run in the Big Horn Mountains of Wyoming.” Beaming back at me, he said, “That’s great! What an accomplishment. Keep on running. It’s so good for your mind.” I agreed and asked how his training was going. He said, “Well I completed my goal.” Smiling, I congratulated him and asked where he ran his marathon. He looked over at me to let me know he has run a marathon in every state of the U.S.

My face was in utter astonishment. Having just trained for my first long distance race, I knew what it took to get into running shape. Hal Higdon’s training schedule would tell you it takes 1 day for every mile you run for the body to recover. I had committed to the 18-miler in January and trained all the way up until the race Father’s Day weekend. This was a serious runner I was talking to. He began to tell me all the joy running gave him, reminding him that he was still alive.

I had to know what his most memorable marathon was. He noted a few cool places he went to, but the most memorable run was coastal Texas. On the day of his race, it was raining. I always liked running in the rain, but it is a different type of mental battle. His legs were really hurting that day, and the cold rain wasn’t doing him any favors. There were also cut-off times to be aware of. He admitted he wasn’t the fastest runner. Everyone else in the race had finished or dropped out and he was the only competitor left. The race coordinator drove up to him, asking what he wanted to do. My new friend told him he was going to finish.

That race coordinator drove every mile to the finish line with him, asking several times, “do you want to quit?” And he didn’t. The coordinator at one point even said, “Come on man, it’s cold. You sure you’re not done?” My friend smiled and told him, “You don’t have to stay, but I’m going to finish.” He finished the race. Biting my cheek hard, there was no stopping the tears. My new friend told me he would never forget that race, and I knew I would never forget him. Our plane was about to land, and he was so full of life the entire time as he never quit sharing his life with me. Before we left, I thanked him for sharing his story, and told him how much he inspired me. Smiling with his kind eyes full of life he said, “I get off this plane and get picked up by a good woman who loves me. I’m still alive, living this good life that the Lord gave me. I am blessed. The only way you lose is if you quit.”

“The only way you lose is if you quit.”

That meeting has never left me, and I don’t think it ever will. Although life doesn’t feel like I’m running through a rainstorm season right now, there have been times when it has. But oh, aren’t those the moments that make us feel alive? It’s easy to say yes when it’s easy. The times of trial and races in the rain produce so much more in us than the days of perfect weather and circumstances.

50 degrees and no snow yielded perfect weather to travel Wyoming and Colorado this week. Three days and 900 miles in a rental car gave me plenty of windshield time. I thought about the tough times to say yes this year. The times when it would have been easier to quit or let up. Every evening, I found myself being so thankful and joyful that this is my life, and I’m living my dream. Every day was a “cup runneth over” day. I told one of my customers, “There isn’t a single office that I don’t enjoy calling on. Every single relationship is one I enjoy and choose to say yes to.”

I am confident that there will be more races run in the rain. The odds will be stacked against, and not everyone favors the underdog. There will be bystanders that leave. There will be people of rank asking, “are you done?” What will you say? What will your response be?

“He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.” Phil 1:6

I pray mine will be to see this thing through to completion. In trail running I used to remind myself after I had run so many miles, “It’s more insane to quit than it is to keep going.”  Logically, why would I throw away the miles completed and neglect the ones left? Whatever your race is this week, keep going. The only way you lose is if you quit. You never know who may need to hear your story about how you wouldn’t give up, especially while running through the rain.