One gift: A story about what happened at the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure

breast cancer awareness / friends / health / reaching out / Wordless/Wordful Wednesdays

A couple of months ago, I participated in the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure with my mother-in-law, a breast cancer survivor. Here’s a picture of us before the race:

susan g komen race
Most of Mike’s family was there, along with our two kids. It was an incredibly inspiring morning.

And in the middle of thousands of people who came together to make a difference that day,
there was one person

who did one little thing

that made a big impact…

The year before, when my mother-in-law had finished the Race, she, like all survivors, had received a medal at the finish line.

So when she walked through the finish line again this year, she looked for the place to get her medal.

She went from booth to booth, but every booth she checked had already run out.

Then a woman in a pink survivor shirt walked by with a medal around her neck.

My mother-in-law stopped her and asked where she got it.

“Didn’t you get one too?” the woman asked.

“No,” my mother-in-law answered, “everywhere I’ve looked, they’ve run out.”

And that’s when the woman reached down and took her own medal off. “I’ve been cancer-free for ten years,” she said, “and this is my tenth year at the Race.”

She leaned forward and placed the medal around my mother-in-law’s neck. “Here. It’s yours now.”

They hugged and cried, and in the same way my mother-in-law has inspired so many people with how she’s overcome cancer, that woman inspired her.

I don’t know if the woman will ever understand how much her act of giving meant that day.

Because she gave much more than a medal.

She gave inspiration.

And encouragement.

And hope.

And it was an awesome reminder that each time we give to others, we can impact their lives in a powerful way.

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Comments

  1. Jennifer Leigh

    My father is a cancer survivor and things like this just automatically bring tears to my eyes. Funny like that. I hope your MIL takes that hope and inspiration and gives the fight of her life!

  3. Barbie

    WOW, this brought tears to my eyes. What a wonderful act of love and hope to your mother-in-law. Thank you for sharing!

  5. Alicia

    What a beautiful story!!!! My mom has been cancer free for 8 years now! God is good!

  6. Run DMT

    That was a lovely story. I ran in the Race for the cure last year and plan to do so again this year. It is really inspiring to know you are helping to fight cancer with every step.

  7. blueviolet

    That is so beautiful! Having been through it with my mom these stories really hit home.

  8. Joyful

    Selfless giving. Love it! This precious lady knew the joy of giving with open fists…not holding so tightly to earthly possessions…so that your mother-in-law could experience the blessing of receiving.Beautiful example. May I be as giving,Joy

  16. Michelle

    That was a beautiful story that brought a tear to my eyes. Thanks so much for sharing it with us!This is why I love and look forward to WW's!

  18. Tracy

    Hi Genny,Just had to stop by to see your place…what a beautiful site! How I loved this story…what an inspiring and loving thing for that woman to do. So glad you shared this. Blessings,TracyP.S. Thanks for your visit and kind comment to my blog.

  19. KellieS

    You have such great stories, Genny! I lost my mom 10 years ago to cancer, so I love hearing about survivors and how they support each other.

  22. Kelly

    what a beautiful story! i have goosebumps! very inspriring!i've always wanted to do that walk and i'm hoping one of these years i muster up the courage to do it!

  26. angie

    Oh, this story gave me chills. What a wonderful thing to have done!

Comments are closed.