Divine Irony

Joel and Cathy Jager’s son, Evan, is the eighth fastest man in the world. But when he enters the Olympic stadium in London for the first-round preliminaries on August 3, he will be the fifth fastest man–only three men from Kenya and one from Ethiopia rank ahead of him. “There three other Kenyans in the top eight, but only three people from the same country can participate,” says his dad, Joel Jager, a staff member and founding member of Willow Creek.

Evan is at the Olympics to compete in the 3,000-meter Steeplechase—a track and field event that requires skills beyond running. It includes 28 hurdle jumps and seven jumps over water.If 23-year-old Evan, who graduated from H.D. Jacobs High School in Algonquin, qualifies on August 3, he’ll go for the gold on August 5.

Success in competitions brings him joy, but Evan would run even if he wasn’t on a track and had a number pinned to his chest. He has loved to run since he was three years old. “He was about four when he told his mom, ‘I love to run,’” says Joel. In junior high, he ran races and had a lot of success—success that brings his dad joy.

Joel Jager has never run. Growing up in rural Michigan, Joel was stricken with polio when he was only 10 months old. Today he needs a leg brace to walk, but polio has never slowed him down. “My parents told me I was made for a purpose and whatever that was, I could fulfill it, whether or not I could walk.” Joel has lived his life with that mindset. And now he has a son who is breaking track and field records. “I call it a divine irony,” says Joel.

Joel, his wife Cathy and their daughter Mallory all were present on August 3 and the race on August 5 to cheering Evan on from the stands in the Olympic stadium.

“It was fun to watch Evan run when he was little,” says Joel. And the more Evan ran, the better he got at it. “That’s when I realized my son’s running was a gift—to me.”

Divine irony.