Tell Me Something Good – His Guiding Light

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wow – thank you for the outpouring of love from my last post about my husband accomplishing his ironman! is it weird that i read my own article four more times and cried each time? maybe. but i did.

as i mentioned in that post, the end of his race (aka hour 15.5) was starting to wear on him. it was 10pm as cassie and i waited for him at mile 22, unsure how he was feeling or if he was injured. when we finally saw him approach, there was a woman following close behind him.

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ravery quickly said that he had to keep walking. he was hanging in there but so ready for it to be over. he said ‘this is khem and she’s lighting my way.’ i had no idea who this woman was, how they connected but none of that mattered – he was not alone.

it gave me such a sense of peace to know he wasn’t navigating the trail alone or in the dark. i breathed a bit easier.

after he crossed the finish line, i saw khem approach a few minutes later and we had our proper introduction. through tears, i profusely thanked her for being there for him and i’m so glad they got a photo together!

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the next day i asked ravery more about who this woman was and how they connected. she was apparently volunteering throughout the day and wrapping up her shift late at night. she was shining the light on her phone because it was pitch black out. ravery made a comment like ‘hey, nice light’ as they walked by each other and she said something like “yeah it’s dark out – i can hold this light a while for you if you want?”

this was around mile 21 and she was literally his guiding light until the finish line at 26.2 miles. how incredible is that?! i get all teary-eyed thinking about the kindness of this complete stranger.

she stayed behind/beside him and shined her phone light as he mustered every last ounce of energy to finish the race. when ravery got nauseous and said he couldn’t talk anymore, she said, “no problem – we don’t need to talk.” when he said he needed to run to make his timing, she said, “no problem, let’s run.” she was so thoughtful that she used her own phone to call mine to let me know he would be crossing the finish line shortly so i should get ready! can you believe that?!

walking 5 miles to support a complete stranger – literally being his guiding light. that is kindness. that is goodness. that is proof that our world will be alright. thank you khem!

i take this a powerful metaphor that we should all up our game and look for ways to shine the light for others on a more regular basis. imagine the illumination…

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16 Comments

  1. Audrey

    August 19, 2016 at 7:04 am

    Welp, if your last post didn’t make me cry this one certainly did. Some people are awful but it’s people like Khem that make up for the bad humans by being a super amazing kind thoughtful human 🙂 I’m so glad she came across your husband’s path and helped you both out. What an angel!
    Audrey recently posted…Favorites & Love

    • chelsea

      August 22, 2016 at 10:58 am

      yay happy tears (i cried the whole time writing it audrey)! i am so grateful she came across his path too – what she gave us both is priceless!

  2. Elyse@JustMurrayed

    August 19, 2016 at 9:18 am

    Oh my gosh! Such an amazingly sweet lady! It’s an awesome life lesson that I’m sure you and ravery will never forget!
    Elyse@JustMurrayed recently posted…Celebrating 30

    • chelsea

      August 22, 2016 at 10:56 am

      absolutely correct – we will never forget her or what she did for him/us! it totally makes me want to pay better attention to how i can help people in need!

  3. Paula Howley

    August 19, 2016 at 12:14 pm

    Thankyou for letting us know about one more awesome person in the world.
    Paula Howley recently posted…Synthesizing an Unmistakable Voice

    • chelsea

      August 22, 2016 at 10:54 am

      STILL get weepy when i think about what she did for him/us. yay awesome people!

  4. Karen

    August 19, 2016 at 12:31 pm

    What a powerful story and reminder – thanks for writing this Chelsea – made my day.

    • chelsea

      August 22, 2016 at 10:54 am

      🙂 i basically cried the whole time writing it, thanks for reading and your comment karen!

  5. Jennifer Haston

    August 19, 2016 at 12:34 pm

    Wow, just wow.. that is so incredible! I love stories like this! PAY IT FORWARD in action! What a very kind gesture! My tell you something good is.. We found a pediatrician that we LOVE for the upcoming MiniMac arrival. I can’t believe how close it’s getting! I know you must be feeling it much more as your day is much closer.. sending you nice calming thoughts for your delivery of YOUR QUEEN!

    • chelsea

      August 22, 2016 at 10:53 am

      pay it forward in action indeed, jennifer! so so happy you found a pediatrician you LOVE – that was very stressful for us to find one so yay! thanks for sending over nice calming thoughts for her birth – you too!

  6. Brittany

    August 19, 2016 at 1:14 pm

    This is an awesome post. She sounds like an amazing person. These posts are so great because not only do they show us the good that you notice in the world, but I think it helps me look around and find the good that is going on around me as well. Not always is it quite as amazing as this but so often I think we, as a society, hear so much about the bad.. its nice to focus on all of the good that happens everyday. Thanks for these posts!

    • chelsea

      August 22, 2016 at 10:52 am

      so happy to hear that brittany! it helps me pay better attention to the big and small things in the world too because i do believe a lot of it has to do with what we focus on 🙂 thank you for reading and your comment and hope you are well!

  7. Vivien

    August 19, 2016 at 1:36 pm

    Thank you for this wonderful story!
    Gives me the warm fuzzies to know there’s individuals out in this world that will do such a crazy good act, just because! 🙂

    • chelsea

      August 22, 2016 at 10:52 am

      thanks for reading vivien – we are so grateful for her! such a powerful reminder of the power we have in us to be kind

  8. chelsea jacobs

    August 19, 2016 at 2:43 pm

    This made me cry! Such good in the world.
    chelsea jacobs recently posted…The Swing Forward Camp.

    • chelsea

      August 22, 2016 at 10:51 am

      there is such good in the world 🙂