Authors: Kathryn Cushman
Tags: #FIC042000, #FIC026000, #FIC044000, #Athletes—Fiction, #Mentoring—Fiction
Chasing Hope (25 page)
E
veryone please welcome Miss Brandy Philip.”
Everyone in the audience applauded. Well, almost everyone. Not Tansy Rhoades. She would not give her mother the satisfaction. Her friends were all at the mall this afternoon, trying on bathing suits and shorts in preparation for next week’s trip to the lake, and she was stuck here listening to some speaker she couldn’t care less about.
The lady looked like any other athlete, except that her hair was died pink with blue on the tips, and she had a nose ring. “Thank you, Coach Thompson. Thank you, everyone, for coming. I know there is one particular thing that you all are here to hear about.” She paused and the audience made an idiotic giggling sound. How lame could this get? “But first, I thought I’d give you a little background on how it all came to be. Lights, please.”
The lights dimmed and this Brandy Philip lady turned on the PowerPoint. The first picture was a black and white of some weird-looking guy running. Yeah, this was going to be bad, all right.
But the pictures went on, and so did the story, and it wasn’t long before Tansy found herself leaning forward in her seat, squeezing
her chair handles. This was an amazing story. And it was in that moment that Tansy found her. Her hero.
“Here I am at the age of sixteen, when I first got to know the woman who changed my life forever. This is my coach and friend, Sabrina Conner—she was Sabrina Rice back in these days.” The audience had gone dead still, enthralled as the story continued to unfold of training, arguments, hangovers, illness, and eventually scholarships and triumphs.
The last picture showed the two of them together, arms around each other’s shoulders, with two gold medals hanging around Brandy’s neck. “And this is how it all ended up just a few months ago. But this isn’t the end, it’s still only the beginning. Sabrina continues to help people all around the world with her work as a spokesperson for Bridges. We’re fortunate to have her with us today, her and her husband, Koen. Will the two of you please stand?” A dark-headed woman and a pale blond man stood and gave a quick wave to the audience, then quietly took their seats.
“And as for me, I’m still taking my training runs, making plans for the next Olympics, but there is so much more. Running is a God-given talent, one that I may or may not be able to continue to use. His timing is better than my best plans, so I can only trust Him. In addition to running, my heart’s call is to help inner-city kids find mentors who are willing to show them a better way.”
That’s when Tansy knew. With absolute certainty she knew what she wanted to do with the rest of her life. As she walked from the auditorium, she turned to her mother. “I’m going to be a runner, and I’m going to work with kids who have cancer. That’s my call.”
Mom threw back her head and laughed. It wasn’t one of those grown-up kinds of laughs that let a kid know how stupid they were. No, this was one of those “I’m so completely happy I can’t
hold it in” kinds of things. She reached down and scooped Tansy into her arms and spun around in a circle. “Sounds terrific.”
Tansy was so happy with her newfound purpose that she wasn’t really too embarrassed by her mother’s public display of affection—thankfully none of the kids from school were anywhere near this place. “Can we start training now? You want to go for a run when we get home?”
“I think that’s a grand idea.” And just like that, they became running partners.
Every single day.
At five in the morning.
Rain or shine.
“Go through the camp and tell the people, ‘Get your provisions ready. Three days from now you will cross the Jordan here to go in and take possession of the land the Lord your God is giving you for your own.’”
Joshua 1:11
Heavenly Father—
For your great love in all circumstances.
Lee Cushman—
For standing by me in all things. Your strength and support are unwavering. I love you.
Melanie Cushman—
For setting an example for us all with your strength, and for agreeing to let me use parts of your story to tell this one.
Caroline Cushman—
For being the family cheerleader in all things—including my writing and my (often annoying and inconvenient) research on running.
Ora Parrish—
Your love and support go well beyond a mother’s love. You are amazing.
Carl, Alisa, Katy, and Lisa—
The best family ever!
Brenna, Judy, Kristyn, Denice, Kathleen, Gary, Carolyn, and Lori—
great friends and supporters
Dave Long—
It is such an amazing privilege to work with you.
Carrie Padgett—
Not only a writing friend, but a true friend
Kelli Standish—
For always “cheering me on”
To all the runners, past and present, whom I have hounded endlessly for coaching tidbits and personal experiences—Gary Brown, Emily Turvey, Liam Cetti, Kyle Krutenat, Garrett Iverson, Nate Fearer, Jansen Dahill, and many, many others
for
Conversation
- Have you ever run a distance event or trained for an athletic competition? How did it impact your life and did it teach you anything about yourself?
- Sabrina acts as both coach and mentor for Brandy. Is there someone in your life who needs you in the same way Brandy needed Sabrina? How is your situation different?
- Sabrina has a challenging relationship with her father. In what ways do you think it helped her? It what ways did it hurt her? Do you have a similarly challenging relationship with a family member or friend?
- Both Sabrina and Brandy had very supportive grandmothers. Did any of your grandparents play a significant role in your childhood or in your life as a young adult? What is the difference between the relationship a person has with her grandparent and her relationship with a parent?
- Sabrina deals with very difficult physical challenges. Have you or someone you love dealt with a chronic health issue? How does a person’s physical body affect both their mental and spiritual lives?
- Running is a physical gift for both Sabrina and Brandy. What do you see as some talents or gifts you’ve been given and how do you use them in thanks to God?
- Do you have a Kayla in your life? How do you deal with it? Why do you think God allows Kayla-type misunderstandings between believers?
- Do you have a hero? What is it about that person that makes you admire him or her? What heroic qualities do you think others might see in you?
- Sabrina and Brandy both had life situations that were “not fair.” In your own life, do you feel that your circumstances are fair, unfair, or unfairly blessed? How do you feel about people who fall into the other categories?
- Have you ever felt called to do something or go somewhere—your “promised land”—and then when things didn’t happen as you expected, you began to doubt your call? Was your faith strengthened or weakened as a result?
Kathryn Cushman
is a graduate of Samford University with a degree in pharmacy. She is the author of six previous novels, including
Leaving Yesterday
and
A Promise to Remember
, which were both finalists for the Carol Award in Women’s Fiction. Kathryn and her family live in Santa Barbara, California.
Chasing Hope
A Promise to Remember
Waiting for Daybreak
Leaving Yesterday
Another Dawn
Almost Amish
