The Track Star

Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.

—Psalm 139:16

My dad grew up with Joel Jager, in Kalamazoo, Michigan, in the same church, the same school. When my dad moved to Chicago, he and Joel were roommates. Joel’s been an audio engineer at the church for over thirty years, and he’s like an uncle to me.

This year, Joel’s son, Evan, is a senior in high school. He’s a runner, and he has won every conference meet, regional meet, and sectional meet he’s run. He won state, set a course record, and was ninth in the nation last year. Evan is a phenomenon, that rare combination of natural talent, determination, discipline, and sportsmanship. Joel is proud of that kid, and he loves to watch Evan run.

Joel has never run a day in his life. Joel had polio as a small child and walks with a pronounced limp. When he overexerts himself, he pays for it with a lot of pain for several days afterward. When I was little, I felt very sad and angry about Uncle Joel’s legs. And now my dear uncle-friend Joel has a son who is a track star. How’s that for sacred hands working behind the scenes, weaving poetry into our lives? It makes me believe in God anew.