We are each other's aid stations

​Anyone who has ever entered an endurance event of any kind knows the importance of the aid station. The further and longer the event, the more important those aid stations become.

Having run a few ultra marathons myself, I know the feeling of seeing an upcoming station. The food and hydration are a huge part of that feeling, for sure, but more than that, there's an excitement in seeing the people who greet you with both.

Last year, I had the chance to be a part of an aid station at the Georgia Jewel. Runners approached our station who'd run upwards of 75 miles. Many of them had been running for 12 hours or more.

They were ready to be aided.

It's a different feeling working on that side of the aid equation. As a runner, you approach an aid station knowing quite clearly how much you long for helpers. But until you work an aid station, you don't fully understand just how much the people there are longing to BE helpers.

Having been in a runner's shoes, I had a good idea the distresses runners were feeling as they approached our station. This only deepened my longing to ease their distresses.

I had a good idea that they indeed wanted food and drink. But often what they wanted as much was reassurance, a gentle pat on the back, a voice to remind them they aren't alone. Because the longer an event goes on, the more that event tries to convince you that you are indeed all alone.

Many of us who aren't runners can relate to this feeling. Many of us feel like life has turned into an endurance event that has no aid stations in sight. I have been there, on the trail and off.

The bible tells us in James 1:27: Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.

I have wondered from time to time, why orphans and widows? Why is aiding them offered as an example of purity here?

This morning, I wonder if it's because widows and orphans, in a very acute way, understand the distress of facing a battle that feels like it will never end. And often while feeling all alone. No aid stations in sight.

This morning, I wonder if someone polluted by the world is far less capable - or interested - in seeing the distressed. I wonder if the polluted no longer see and deeply feel the value of working an aid station.

Of being a helper.

If you are feeling the least bit polluted in this way, as I assure you I at times have, I encourage you to volunteer at an aid station. I encourage you to feel the desperation of the distressed, and witness it begin to evaporate with your mere presence.

Because often that is what a widow and orphan are looking for most, a reminder that their deepest longing - human connection - is not lost forever. Your presence can be service to that reminder.

And often that is what that ultra runner is looking for.

Twenty five miles feels like a long way to go. But not nearly as long when you aren't going it alone.

We can all begin to feel like widows and orphans.

We can all make sure no one has to.