It was late in August the summer of 2003. My family and I were making our way to Vancouver Island for my internship before Ordination. We were driving along in Northern Ontario on an overcast cool day. It was more like fall than late summer. We came across the spot – a statue stood on the hill. The shape of a familiar person for those of us who remember his run. That awkward stance he'd take with each step as he tilted one hip and threw his artificial leg forward followed by something akin to a hop and a jump. It was a statue of Terry Fox – one of the greatest Canadians who has ever lived. His statue forever overlooks the spot where his Marathon of Hope came to an end just outside Thunderbay. 143 days and 5,373 Kilometres later Terry could run no more. Yet the hope he inspired in people; the sheer determination of a young person to change the world; the desire to find a cure for cancer – that part of Terry's marathon lives on. After a week full or remembering senseless violence, talk of troop reductions, and Canada's failure to live up to its commitment – perhaps it's a good thing that we begin this week with Terry's legacy. We begin this week with hope – the hope that our actions, our words, the purpose we ascribe to our hands can and will make a difference – just as someone else believed almost 2000 years ago along the Jordan river and the Galilee.
To learn more about the annual Terry Fox Run, please visit http://www.terryfoxrun.org/english/terry%20fox%20run/default.asp?s=1
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