Walking Forward

23-Mile Walk Into Year Ten of Living With Crohn’s

I've had a hard time explaining what I'm doing at the end of this month.

While technically it is a 23-mile walk, it really isn't about the 23 miles. It's about what those miles represent.

I'm coming up on nine years since I was diagnosed with Crohn's disease, and entering year ten.

As I started thinking about that, I realized I don't want to just let this next decade happen. I don't want to look up ten years from now and wonder where the time went, wishing I had been as intentional as I was the decade before.

I want to walk into it intentionally.

Because so much of who I am today was formed in the middle of a season I never would have chosen. And I'm really grateful for that.

That's what this walk truly represents. A pause. A chance to remember. A chance to be grateful for what has been, while intentionally looking forward to what could be.

Why the walk?

It was one of the first things I did when I was finally well enough to get off the couch on my own.

After a season where I couldn't move my body the way I wanted to, being able to simply walk felt like such a gift. I remember being filled with gratitude for something I had spent my entire life taking for granted. I couldn't imagine a person not finding some kind of joy in walking after experiencing what it felt like to not be able to.

I never want to lose that.

Over the years, walking also became a place of peace for me. A place to get quiet, to think, process, and pray.

So when I thought about how I wanted to mark this transition into year ten, walking felt right. But I didn't want to just walk aimlessly, I wanted to walk through the story that brought me here.

So I created a route through some of the places and people who have played a significant role in the story that is still being written.

The Route:

First Leg: I'll start at my house with my mom, my sister, my best friend, and my mother-in-law. We'll walk to the hospital where I spent so much time during some of the darkest days of my disease. They were there through so much of it. They supported me, advocated for me, showed up, and never missed a beat.

Second Leg: From there, my husband and our boys will join me as we walk to Catholic Charities. This stop represents one of the greatest blessings that came from one of the hardest parts of our story. Being told we couldn't have any more children of our own due to complications with surgery, we quickly redirected. We pursued adoption, and eventually God wrote Simon's story to be intertwined with ours. We cannot begin to imagine our lives without him in it.

Third Leg: From Catholic Charities, two of my biggest blessings in friendship, Macy and Hannah, will join me to walk to BIO Girls. I started serving, and eventually worked there, after I began healing and it was one of the first places where I really began to understand that the gifts God had put inside of me could be used for something beyond myself. That was a pivotal moment for me and it changed the way I saw my life, my work, and what might actually be possible.

Fourth Leg: From there, my dear friends Beth, Michelle, Nancy, and Jennifer will join me as we walk to our church, Prairie Heights. My faith became something deeper there. Not just something I believed, but something I wanted to build my life around and it continues to play a significant role in the lives of our whole family.

And then I'll have three miles left.

Three miles back home.

These miles won't be about looking back. They'll be about walking forward into year ten. Into another decade filled with bigger dreams, bolder faith, and even more intentionality in my relationships, my work, and the impact I hope to make.

I don't know what the next ten years will hold, and it's very likely my health will continue to be something I navigate every day. But one thing I do know is, I don't want to drift through it. I want to remember that I don't have to know exactly what the future holds to walk toward it with intention.

So this isn't really a walk to commemorate nine years of disease. It's a walk to honor the people who have walked with me, and to remember the places that shaped me. To thank God for the growth and blessings that have come from a story I never would have written this way. And to make a decision about how I want to enter the next chapter.

With gratitude for where I've been.

With intention for where I'm going.

And with a willingness to dream about what's possible.