I love having a DVR. I don't have time to sit and watch every moment of the olympics, but I have seen some great moments played back. The other day I was watching Freestyle Skiing. What a cool event. It hurts my back and knees just watching (and I am only 40).
I was sucked in by team pride and wanting our champion to be champion again. I was cheering on 3 time Olympian and Gold Medalist in the 2010 Vancouver Olympics, Hannah Kearney. I watched her with a mediocre run in qualifying(compared to her other runs, not compared to what I could do) and the concern that was shared. She needed to be at the top if she wanted to win gold again. Then I watched her next run. It was amazingly flawless, technically correct. The stunts were perfect. She smoothed the moguls under her feet. She would run the final round in first place, the last one to run.
You could cut the anticipation and excitement with a knife. She came out great. Got great height and then it happened. One mogul yanked her ski. She had one brief lapse in technique (or I would say bad luck) and it was the difference between gold and bronze. The favorite was devastated. At the ripe old age of 27 she knew this was her last Olympics. It showed in her face. You could hear it in her voice before she turned her back and broke down.
Me, I was so excited. We won bronze in a sport I would never be able to compete in. We won another medal for our country. Hannah Kearney is a champion and hero!! What an amazing job she did. She skied so well and had an incredible run. But her disappointment was still there.
We all have those moments where we think we were better. We knew we could do better. We really wanted to win. And yet it just didn't happen. Was God against us? Did God want the other person to win more? (LOL) How ridiculous!
God created all of us the same. God in creation did not say that part of humanity was "very good" and the other was "iffy". No, God saw all of us as "very good" and continues to rejoice and celebrate at the beauty of that which was created no matter how we have evolved over time. God is proud of the "C" student just as much as the "A" student. God looks with favor on those who say thank you whether they are the super bowl champs or the team with the 2-14 record.
I was excited to celebrate bronze with Hannah. My heart broke to see her heart broken, and I knew that Jesus wept and probably weeps when our hearts are broken as well. I also know that God was so proud when Hannah and all of us use the gifts bestowed upon us to do great things and to bring people together.
I know God's hands are surrounding those athletes from all of the countries. My prayer is that we will find unity and fellowship with brothers and sisters who are different. The Olympics provide an amazing gift for the world to gather together as one and celebrate without prejudice. Let's celebrate each other and our diversity. Let's rejoice and look for God in each other... God did say that we were all created in the same image!
Let's let go of our preconceived ideas of other cultures, faith practices, and ideologies. If we can celebrate who God is, who God created us to be, and celebrate the gifts we have, we may be able to let go of our disappointments and frustrations. If we can let go, we may see that we are God's greatest joy!
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