More than a marathon
Words can't describe my despair after I received this e-mail from the consular's office at the United States Embassy in New Delhi: "Thank you for the information you provided on behalf of [the disabled] athletes ... [but] the officers had no choice but to deny their visa requests.... They may reapply by mail ... [but] it is unlikely their applications would be approved."
We'd been denied, and we felt devastated. Six months of training by a team of disabled runners from Bhutan, a tiny Himalayan kingdom wedged in between Tibet and India, and nearly a year of logistical legwork by me, all down the tubes. Dozens of sponsors would have to be repaid. The runners' dreams had been dashed; they would not be the first people from their homeland to run a US marathon, nor would they get the new prostheses donated to them by an American company.
Embassy officials had been kind and forthright, and I respected them and the laws. But deep in my heart, I felt the athletes deserved vi-sas because their trip to the US had a legitimate purpose, and they had no intention of staying illegally. I prayed, and the focus of my prayer was government. Who was in control of my life and the runners' lives? US Embassy officials, visa laws, and an apparently impenetrable bureaucracy? Or God?
The situation seemed hopeless, but I knew that it wasn't. Many times I'd proved through prayer that God, divine Love, is the ultimate arbiter of humanity's affairs, and that divine Love never deprives people of the good that is rightfully theirs.
I contacted a Christian Science practitioner to pray with me, and he provided a swift and invigorating response: "Nothing can stop what is right, and we're going to prove it." He suggested including in my prayer this statement about Jesus' life from "Unity of Good" by Mary Baker Eddy, the founder of the Monitor: "... neither red tape nor indignity hindered the divine process" (pg. 11). This wasn't a platitude to make me feel better; it radically changed my perception of the situation and provided immediate comfort.
It gave me a better understanding of the loving and spiritual nature of life. I saw that God is Spirit; that God made all that exists in His own image to be spiritual, loving, honest and sincere; and that we are all under God's jurisdiction. This was true about the US Embassy officials, the Bhutanese runners, and me. Our lives are governed by God, good, not by "red tape" or "indignity." In less than 30 minutes, my whole thought had been turned around - spiritualized - and I felt completely at peace. I knew that everything was OK, despite how things looked.
After having had their visa requests denied on a Thursday afternoon, the runners decided to return to Bhutan, and I didn't dissuade them. I knew that God was in complete control, and I fully trusted that good was what we'd all experience. As the runners were packing, a hotel clerk recommended that they remain in Delhi for the weekend to make a last-ditch plea to the Embassy on Monday. I called the runners on Friday to wish them a good trip home, and they said they'd decided to stay in Delhi. Finally, some good news!
On Sunday night, from New York, I called the Embassy. In Delhi, it was early Monday morning. I was told that the rejections were irreversible. I then provided personal information about the runners not given during their interviews. The officer had some questions. Finally, she said, "We never do this, but send them back this morning for another interview."
A couple of hours later, they had visas. Twelve hours later, they were on a plane to New York. A week later, they ran the marathon. A few weeks later, they received new prostheses. On their trip home, they received a special invitation to the US Embassy in Delhi to show off their marathon medals and tell about their travels.
Our lives often seem like they're under the control of bad and uncontrollable forces - a mean teacher, a dishonest boss, a bank's bureaucracy. But this experience proved to me that no situation is hopeless or beyond God's control. Nothing but God has any influence over God's children, and we're all God's beloved daughters and sons. So no matter what the circumstance, we can and must stand up for what is good and true. I've found that humble, God-centered prayer is the most effective way to begin.
