Nov 7, 2010

Edison Pena

Oh, I love this happy, funny, irresistibly
adorable man. So much.

But I can't imagine what he would
have thought if someone told him--
when he was trapped deep in the
Chilean mine in which he worked--that he would
be laughing about his 69-day long brush with death.

In the mine, he was dubbed "the runner."
He ran as much as six miles a day through dark tunnels
--sometimes dragging a pallet behind him.

He explains his motivation by saying this:
"When I ran in the darkness, I was running for life.
I didn't say I can't.
No, I tried and I succeeded and I did it.
And, of course, I did that in the darkness.
Without light.
I was running to show that I wasn't just waiting around.
I was running to be an active participant in my own salvation.
I wasn't just waiting around.
I was running because I was also contributing
to the struggle for our rescue.
And I also wanted God to see that I really wanted to live."

Today, Edison Pena is running the New York City Marathon.
I am cheering for him.

Show God that you really want to live by being an
active participant in your own salvation.
Don't wait around.