Ascension : Grotto News - Thought For The Week
Submitted by The Islander (Shari Parkhill) 04.03.2010 (Article Archived on 18.03.2010)

This past Sunday, another large crowd of Ascension Islanders of all ages and backgrounds turned out for the Runway Dash.

This past Sunday, another large crowd of Ascension Islanders of all ages and backgrounds turned out for the Runway Dash.  It is always good to see so many folks make the effort for a worthy cause!  They ran, they walked, they rode bikes, tricycles, and other strange contraptions, little ones got pushed in strollers.  Any mode of transport was acceptable – the important thing was that we were all out there in the hot sun, getting some exercise and supporting Breast Cancer in St. Helena and the Girl Guides.

Everyone knows someone with breast cancer.  We’ve lost friends and loved ones to it, we have friends who have survived it, and many of us know someone currently fighting their own battle with it.  Some of us have even had a personal experience with it.  It is a shadow that looms in every woman’s life.

Like all cancers, it steals away our safety net.  It tests our faith, our relationships and our resolve.  Those who deal with it wonder why it happens to them.  It is a fight that too many women, and even some men, have to take part in.  It is not prejudiced; it happens to all ethnic backgrounds.  It happens at any age.  It crosses economic lines, and has no respect for anyone.

To see so many people turn out at events all over the world, and to see such a coordinated effort to raise money for research and to help those affected, is a testament of the will we have to fight, and eventually defeat this disease.

It proves to us what working together can do.  It shows us what faith can bring about.  It shows us that no one walks on the Earth alone.  When people get together to face a challenge together, great things can happen.  Already great strides have been made in this fight.  It has more exposure, more research and more support these days.  I truly believe that this is how God intended his people to be, a diverse group of interesting people who will work together towards a common goal. 

For all those involved in the Runway Dash, congratulations on a job well done.  For all those who ran, walked, cycled and got to the end of a very long runway and back, thank you!  We all had our reasons to participate, some very personal.  Let us take a few moments this week to remember the special people we have lost to this disease.  May God bless all who are fighting their own battles at this time.  And may we all pray for a cure in the near future.

And may God bless each and every one of us.