A childhood friend of mine, Jewel, had a genetic heart defect that caused her to become tired and winded easily. One beautiful fall day when I was young, a few friends from church decided to explore a stream at the bottom of a long, gradual hill across from my house. After our adventure, we began the ascent back to the house. Fairly quickly, Jewel struggled to keep up with us and increasingly lagged behind.
March 27, 2023