Another Miracle by The Lake

In my Post of July 24th I ended by saying that there’s more to the story. One of the long distance runners, physically, has no right to be straining his heart doing 100 mile endurance races. Now, Alex Tucker will tell the rest of the story.

Guest Blog Post from Alex Tucker:

” . . . Test me in this,” says the Lord Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it.” – Malachi 3:10

“But now the Lord says: ‘ . . . for those who honor Me I will honor . . .” – 1 Samuel 2:30

I was never the most athletic kid growing up. I played team sports as a child; baseball in spring, swimming in summer, and soccer in the fall. At an early age, the doctor discovered a heart murmur from a congenital heart defect which he monitored throughout my youth. The murmur never really impacted me and while in High School I starting running to stay in shape. I thought that’s what you did to stay fit. The idea of running for fun was a ludicrous concept for me. It wasn’t until I was in my early-20’s when my spiritual life collided with the physical. I began to go out for runs which evolved into times of worship, prayer, and intercession. What the Christian Olympian, Eric Liddell was quoted as saying in the movie Chariots of Fire rings so true, “And when I run, I feel His pleasure.”

As my time with the Father grew deeper and more relational, my time running became longer and more intense. The running led to training which, over time, led to racing. The relational aspect also grew as I often trained and raced with my running buddies Mike and Andy. Since I was already putting in long distance efforts I began to run marathons and ultra-marathons.

One day in June 2014, I was 35 miles into a 100 Mile race in Massachusetts. The day was hot and the course was hard. I began to feel my heart lose rhythm and my head went dizzy. The EMT gave me a scary on-site diagnosis; I was in atrial fibrillation, the result of the congenital heart defect diagnosed back in my childhood. Although it had never caused any serious issues before, it was now proving to be a major inhibitor. I not only had to quit that race but was forced to take time to rest and pray about what this would mean over the long term. I could keep running in small doses but the long distance training was over for me. My spirit was crushed. The next few months were a season of grieving as I contemplated what new spiritual and physical path I would take.

Later that year, on a clear night in October, my close friend and spiritual mentor, Kevin Butterfield and his daughter Hanna Kate came over to the house for a bonfire down by our lake. Kevin and his family had just moved back to the area so a small group of about 20 other friends came over to show their support and love. We spent time catching up, sharing stories, and praying blessings over their family and ministry.

When the evening was winding down, we all gathered around them to pray. But then Kevin turned to the group and offered to pray for me. He placed his hand on my chest and began a declarative prayer for healing. To this day he will tell you it began as a prayer for a return to my passion and a healing of my spiritual heart. Kevin had no idea about my murmur and my need for physical healing. As he prayed I felt the touch of the Spirit and a wholeness return to my chest. I could feel the blood pumping and a steady consistency in my heart rhythm. I knew God had done something. It was an incredible moment – a reminder of the Father’s care and willingness to meet me in need, with or without any specific request.

Even as I sensed God’s healing touch, the phrase “test this miracle” reverberated in my spirit. I believed this was a true miracle that God actually wanted me to test out. How? By running in the way I had been forced to leave behind.

So, I went out and I ran.

In time I began testing it with more and more miles. The more I ran the deeper my belief in the miraculous and the more the doors opened for me to tell God’s story in my life. Five months later I found myself at the starting line of the Antarctica Marathon, finishing a strong 16th overall. It was a complete fulfillment of all things promised. Six weeks later, I crossed the finish line of the Bear Mountain 50 Mile ultramarathon. As a result of that finish, I was invited to run with a team racing across Italy.

One month after my return from Italy I raced the Vermont 100, a 100-mile endurance run through the mountains of central Vermont. One year after dropping out of my first hundred-miler from health complications, I crossed the finish line of a 100 mile ultra. The ultimate test of that lakeside miracle rang true. The healing was tested and his story spread through increased favor and opportunity.

What I am now certain of is this – the Father loves to watch us wholly living out our passions in spiritual and physical health. In the four years since that miracle by the lake, I’ve run six 100-milers and many different ultra-distance running projects in places like the Rocky Mountains, South Africa, American Southwest, and Southeast Asia.

Now, as long as the Lord keeps opening up doors to tell His story, I’ll keep running through them!

“So, where the power comes from, to see the race to its end – from within . . . I believe God made me for a purpose. He also made fast. And when I run, I feel his pleasure” – Eric Liddell from Chariots of Fire

(Check out Alex Tucker’s blog at AmbitiousVagabond.com)