Dedicated to Relay for Life

I think I'm finally rested from so many, many days filled with too much activity. I'm not sorry that I participated in all the activities, however; after feeling the reverence of the special lighting of the luminaries ceremony, everything we had done became meaningful and worth it all. I wish everyone could witness this special ceremony that occurred at the Relay for Life event. At 9:30, people lined the track while holding lighted candles, in memory and/or in honor of cancer victims. Many of my team members along with my sister whose husband lost his battle with cancer 2 years ago, were holding the candles given in memory of my dear brother-in-law (my main reason for being so involved). It was an awesome experience standing there and listening to the man singing such beautiful songs. Also, there were luminaries spelling the word, "hope", arranged on the bleachers which shone throughout the area. At one point during the early evening, the county Sheriff's Department color guard placed a purple wreath on the stage area in honor of all survivors. The Deputy trumpeteers then played "Amazing Grace" which was beautiful. Our small team worked hard and I am so proud of our church members who took time from their busy schedules to participate in the event. They provided baked goods for our booth; some worked in the booth; and, some gave moral support. We have 2 survivors on our team and they participated in the Survivor Walk (people stood along the edge of the track cheering these wonderful people; so touching). On the second lap, the caregivers (great people) joined them in their walk. It's so difficult to express the feelings one receives by observing and participating in such a worthy cause. My sister and I tried so hard to make it all night there, but it got so cold especially with the cool, damp winds blowing that we decided to go home for a couple of hours mainly to get warm. We left from around 3:00 AM until 5:30 AM along with most everyone. There were 2 who stayed at the booth next door who watched, through sleepy eyes, our things. Much of it we carried with us then brought it back with us. Our team ended up contributing almost $2700. and that is great for us. The main thing is that we were helping a worthy cause. Overall, our county raised, as of Saturday at 1:00 AM, almost $150,000. In 7 years, our county has raised over $1 million, something to be proud of.

If you never have participated in nor witnessed a Relay for Life event, I can highly recommend it to you. I doubt there is a single family anywhere in our country who hasn't had some relative fall victim to cancer. Of course, there are other worthy causes out there too which I wish would fight as hard for: heart-related illnesses, etc. I would do nothing but work for the causes.