Lawrence William Spears.

The world seldom hosts men like Lawrence "Larry" William Spears--a forty-something man trying to reconcile not one but several identity crises with humor and hope instead of a red sports car and a trophy wife.

One crisis involves appreciating his half African-American, half Native American lineage. Less the oppressive historical realities, the two seem a literal ocean apart in genesis and custom. Nevertheless, he regularly probes the public library to explore the Native American ancestry he inherited from his father. And he may one day dig deeper for his African roots.

But Spears lives a little like a stranger in his own country for reasons less understood. In December 1990 he suffered a stroke in his early 30s that buried him in a coma for five days. When he surfaced into consciousness he realized near complete right-sided paralysis and utter dumbness.

A heart attack interrupts the blood supply to the heart muscle. A stroke--or "brain attack"--interrupts the blood supply to the brain. In the United States, stroke ranks as the leading cause of adult disability, and only cardiovascular disease and cancer cause more annual deaths. Of the 700,000 Americans who experience a stroke each year, 160,000 die.

Spears survived. But with his speech silenced and his body cleanly dissected into working and nonworking halves, he found himself haplessly afloat on the most uncharted waters ever. During this time of physical forlornness, he found Christ. And in this way he started bridging yet another set of dissimilar realities--this time spiritual ones.

To successfully integrate the oddly matched pieces handed to him by blood, circumstance, and the Holy Spirit, Spears started studying his genealogy. He also took hold of a wheelchair and then a Bible. Today, more than 10 years after his devastating stroke, he continues struggling to put the puzzle pieces of his life back together.

Now he's clearly on the mend. Last summer Spears got his body, once marbleized on the right side, to happily cross the finish line at the fourth annual Vibrant Life 5K Fun Run & Walk in Hagerstown, Maryland.

"Yes, I did it!" he exclaimed as the applause washed over him--the 120th person out of 120 entrants to complete the 2000 race, 69 minutes after it started.

"Even though he finished last, it's like he finished first," commented 12-year-old race participant Jeremy Pepper, from Falling Waters, West Virginia.

Like all stroke victims, Spears took a long road on his way to being rehabilitated that involved a zillion baby steps. He first exercised in micromovements--a wiggle here, a squeeze there. Later he would step up with his left foot, rest a second, and then use his left arm to drag his right leg up.

After years of misfiring words he slowly marshaled his speech back into something more coherent to others. Although he chucked his cane long ago, he still needs to use a few verbal crutches. For instance, to say "Seventh-day Adventist" he counts. "I am a one, two, three, four, five, six, Seventh-day Adventist," he will gladly share.

But before he could talk very well he could walk well enough. And on these early walks he spoke with God's gentlest audience to find his voice. "When I'm walking, birds, they be talkin'. Squirrels be talking to me, and bees. Deer," he continues, `I talk to them, too."

According to Fred Facemire--a Bible study buddy and his race companion--the relentless commitment to walking and talking that Spears started years ago at ground zero accurately reflects his commitment to overall growth. Facemire proudly recalls how Spears recently filled out a form to go skiing and just asked about going ice skating.

"He's got all the disabilities and everything, but he loves to try new things.... And he credits God with giving him the strength.... He recognizes small improvements, and realizes that nobody else is perfect either."

For more information about the fifth annual Vibrant Life 5K Fun Run & Walk, call [phone], or visit our Web site at www.vibrantlife.com.

Pam Mellskog is a writer living in Boulder, Colorado.