GI Issues and Weakness

On day 8, after crossing the Arizona state line, Johnny woke up to a high fever, aches and pains all over his body, gastrointestinal issues and profound mental fatigue. After a very long and slow morning, he was able to get back on the road. At the 22nd mile, he grapples with the reality of his own weakness and the possibility of his body giving out.

We are all weak. No one likes to admit it, but weakness is an inherent part of being human. We like to forget about it and draw attention to other things. Often it gets hidden behind our cool reputation, our cool social media accounts, or even our cool perception of ourselves within our own minds. Masculine media especially likes to project strength and hide weakness. There is always some guy being lauded for making hard things look easy. We have come to almost expect it.

But taking this expectation to the foot of the cross brings us up against the truth. Does that look easy? Is there any posing there? The greatest moment in all of history was one of total, broken, human - weakness.

Knowing deeply your own weakness through real experience is the root of true strength - strength that can one day take shape in a total gift of self. These encounters with weakness are a central part of everything that we do at Sebaste. The perseverance of the 40 martyrs was possible only through their knowledge and acceptance of their own weakness and their total trust in the sustaining power of God.

For anyone concerned about Johnny’s health, things are looking up, but stay tuned for more updates as the adventure continues in the coming days.