Day 82 - Running Free

To the left is an icon making its way around Pinterest and other corners of the Internet that is an excellent tie in for what I want to write about today, a non-running rest day. It strikes a bit of a chord because running is something I regularly take for granted. Sometimes I go well beyond taking it for granted and complain about having to do it. I don't expect I'll ever arrive in a place where I gleefully leap out the door every day to head out for a run, but I'd like to practice a bit more intentional gratitude for being able to run. It is a gift to be able to run whenever and wherever I want.

A gift that is not extended to the estimated 27 million men, women and children who are held in slavery around the world today.

27 million. Let that sink in. Now, let's expand on that outrageous number. 27 million in miles is the equivalent of 192,034 Ironmans; 270,000 100-mile ultras; 384,068 Ironman 70.3s; 540,000 50-mile ultras; 1,030,534 marathons; 2,061,068 half marathons; 2,700,000 10-milers; and 8,709,677 5ks. (This is a running blog, after all.)


IJM - Introduction Video from International Justice Mission on Vimeo.
I could give you piles of data and numbers until your brain explodes, but isn't it enough to know that even one person is enslaved? Isn't it enough to know that somewhere a girl is being sold? Or that a little boy has never known a life apart from enslavement in a brick kiln? Or that an innocent man has been in jail for a majority of this life because of a corrupt system?

The thought of that one girl, one boy, and one man makes me want to cry out for justice. Multiply it by 27 million and you have one loud cry. But my voice alone would be small, so I'm joining the voice of 27,000 others. Will you be one of them?

International Justice Mission is inviting us to do so, calling on 27,000 Americans to urge President Obama to end slavery. They need 5,000 more signatures to reach the goal. That's all it takes from you -- a signature -- to advance the movement to end slavery. Maybe you'll be compelled to do more, too; but won't you at least sign? Go here to do so, or click the banner over in the sidebar.