Faith Through the Journey

Unless you’ve blocked out all outside communication, you probably know that the Summer Olympics have been taking place in London, England. If you’ve watched any of the games, you’ve seen what is commonly known as “the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat”. Which of us has watched and not teared up over the excitement of those who win those coveted medals, and also at the heartbreak of those who fall short of this noble goal? The disappointment the athletes and those who love and support them feel is very real and will probably last for a period of time. As with every tough experience of life, those who are involved have to figure out a way to get through it and let it become something that can bring life lessons.

Having mothered three children through major and minor disappointments, as well as experiencing them myself and helping my husband through some of his, I know all the standard pep talks. “You’ll get through this”, “Things will be better tomorrow”, “This was a good experience for you”, and other such nonsense!!! For the most part, those are extremely useless and unhelpful for anyone to hear. I’ve learned that there is nothing wrong with feeling badly after a major disappointment, and everyone has the right to do that. However, there is a time to mourn and a time to go on with life. Those who don’t get lost in the “what might have beens” will come away better. As someone wiser that I has said:”That which does not kill us only makes us stronger.” At the end of the Olympics, I venture to say that every athlete, or the vast majority of them, will come away saying that they would not trade their experience for anything and that any medals they might have won are just icing on the cake. The years they have spent preparing were worth it because of what they were able to do in representing their countries and in the people they met. For those who offer up their athletic performance as a gift to the One who gave them their abilities, the experience will be even sweeter and eternally rewarding.

These athletes will press on with whatever goals they have set for themselves after the Olympic torch is extinguished. Very few, if any, will see this as a negative experience, but rather, one of the greatest times of their lives. But their lives will go on, and the Olympic Games will be a stepping stone for them to use as they go on to the rest of what life holds for them. The Apostle Paul said it well, for he lived in the time of gladiators and races run for crowns of laurel leaves. In Philippians 3:14, he writes: “I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.” I truly hope many of the Olympic participants understand that there is still a race to be run, a contest to win that will be an eternal one, and I hope they do offer up their lives and their abilities to their Creator.