Dear Family and Friends,
Libby Ryder has become the name in our household that has stood for faith, endurance and reckless abandonment. Libby, her husband Justin and their beautiful one year old daughter Ava have had their faith refined by fire for the past 6 months. And their faith sounded out with a resounding gong of “Don’t Waste Your Cancer.”
Justin is the Area Director of Young Life, an outreach ministry to high school and middle school kids, in Chesapeake, VA. Libby is a stay at home mom of their sweet daughter Ava. As of July 26, 2010 Libby Ryder, age 26, found out that she had Stage 4 Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. She began her journey with these words
“I told him this week that I was thankful this was all happening now and not in 60 years when we were older and had missed out on loving Jesus this much, or each other this much, and everyone around this much………..this is our story and since we are not writing it, God is… we have to trust that he wanted this part to be in ours.”
Their endurance through the past 6 months of chemotherapy has not only been humbling but has spurred us on in our own walks in life. Their family as graciously poured out their souls to millions of people as they have lived with reckless abandonment in the face of hardship, a new born baby, marriage, ministry, cancer, life and even death. We cannot keep silent anymore as we have been pushed to live a life that we can look back and say “that moment was not wasted.”
My dear friend Libby has shown what Paul writes about in Hebrews 12:1-3
Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.
In the face of Cancer; of death, she has run after the one who gives us Life. And for that, we will join her. We will RUN. Literally. I have signed up for the Music City Half Marathon in Nashville, TN on April 30, 2011.
A group of us are running as “Team Libby.” Running to celebrate the end of chemotherapy. Lord willing, the end of Cancer. We believe that maybe this will be the perfect physical representation of throwing off everything that has hindered us in the past year, and RUN with perseverance this race that has been marked out for us. And do we ever have a great cloud of witnesses who have shown us what it really looks like.
And for you? Maybe you will help sponsor us? All proceeds will go directly to the Ryder Family. Why? Because this is what we do. We can’t take away the pain of cancer, but we can sure as heck release them from the stress of money.
So will you join me? Please consider sponsoring me in this race, and help cross our friends, the Ryder’s over the finish line. All checks can be made payable to me and will be given to the Ryder’s on April 30th 2011.
Thank you so much for your sponsorship and for being in our lives. We are so grateful for you. Thank you for contributing to a family that has no doubt changed the way our family lives. My shoes are primed and ready. Let’s run this life with reckless abandonment towards the only one who gives us life. Thank you for running this race, monetarily, to honor and help our dear friends, The Ryder’s.
Please read their story at dontwasteyourcancer.
Please donate at....
If you would like to run with us, please contact Angie.
Much love,
1 lovely comments:
Maybe the weather is going to become more spring-like. That way maybe you can run outside. My husband is a runner and he likes running outside but has had to run on the treadmill because it is so freezing cold out. So for all you runners, I hope better warmer weather comes our way.
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