Are you a guardian angel?

Last year I turned 50 and started to have a mid-life crisis; nothing too severe unless you ask my wife, but more on that later. I felt I needed to change things up a bit and decided to run a marathon. I had never run farther than about 3-4 miles up to that point, but for some reason, I felt I wanted to do something I had never done before, something that would really challenge me. Perhaps I should have just done a Marvel movie marathon.

I did some reading on running, different techniques, how to train, and then got some new shoes and started training. I also learned about a minimalist training program that appealed to me because I was not ready to run the 26.2 miles. I began to feel confident at distances less than 5 miles, but anything more than 10 miles was a bit grueling, however, my reading said that I would “rise” to the challenge and I felt that I would.

The day of the race came, and I waited to start at the back of the pack with the rest of the slow pokes. The countdown to the race ended, the horn sounded and the runners started, and so did I. It was a cool day, so the running was pretty easy for the first 10-15 miles but I still never missed an aid station. I drank water and took my calorie supplements at each mile marker. When I got to mile marker 18, I began to have some muscle cramps, and by mile 22, I was walking with an occasional jog, and by mile 24, I was wondering what the meaning of life was, why I was doing this to myself and so forth.

At mile 26 there is a slight hill you go up before you reach the finish line, and it felt like I was climbing Denali; the end was not in sight. Then my friend Ray found me and encouraged me to finish the last little bit. Even though I could not see it, the finish was just around the corner. He encouraged me to finish strong, all the while offering me praise and other positive feedback. I completed the race, exhausted but happy.

I have since pondered the effect that Ray had on me at the end of the race. Towards the end, I was having a war of wills in my mind to run, to walk, or to crawl the last mile or so with a body that really wanted to quit. I was at a point that my body was rebelling against me (due to my poor training regimen), but my mind wanted to finish. His timing of encouragement was heaven sent and was key to helping me finish the race. I was in need and Ray was there. I am reminded of a scripture in KJV, Matthew 25:35-36. “For I was an hungered and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: Naked and ye clothed me; I was sick and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me.”

My wife and I had prayed for my safety during the race; that I would not die during that crazy endeavor. Ray’s support that final mile was an answer to those prayers. Has this ever happened to you? Helped at the last minute when you were having a battle between good or evil or perhaps something less spiritual. Have you ever been the answer to someone’s prayer? A timely phone call? A drop by visit? Food to a neighbor who might not get out much or who has poor health? We have the potential to be the answer to someone else’s prayer, to be their guardian angel, if we allow the Lord to whisper to our heart. Often it is not the Lord visiting the sick, it is one of his followers. It is not the Lord feeding the hungry, it is one of his believers, acting on his behalf. It is Christ-like service that answers the prayers of many.

I hope that we might listen to that whisper from the Lord and be an answer to a prayer. That we might help someone finish their marathon, their homework or just make it through to the end of their day. We can provide comfort in so many ways by providing loving service to our fellow brothers and sisters, all while expecting nothing in return — a true act of charity.

Dr. Boston is a local physician, member of the Mat-Su Regional Hospital Board of Trustees, Colonel in the Alaska Air National Guard, father, husband, grandfather, and member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.