Olympics and Core Value #6

Olympics and Core Value #6

Dear Crosswalkers,

The 2010 Winter Olympics are taking place in Vancouver, Canada, and they start on Friday!  As a sports lover, I’m always intrigued by stories that feature followers of Jesus as they pursue their dreams with the values of the Bible and the desire to honor the Lord in everything.  One great story comes from a book entitled Finding God At Harvard: Spiritual Journeys of Thinking Christians.  American figure skater and Harvard graduate Paul Wylie writes of his experience during a very trying moment in the 1988 Calgary Winter Olympics:

I set up for the first jump in my program, but as soon as I’m in the air, I know something is terribly wrong. A flash later my hand touches the ice; the blade will not hold. I start slipping and now I realize it: I am falling. All I hear as I collapse to the ice is the empathetic groan of what seems like a million voices. I struggle to get up, hustling to get to the next move, thoughts racing through my mind as I try to cover the disappointments. There is no way of erasing a fall from the judge’s minds, nor can I jam the television transmissions to the living rooms of family and friends watching back home. This is live, and I have just blown it.

I have four minutes left and one important choice to make. Either skate through the rest of the program believing that something constructive will come of the mishap, concentrating and performing through to the end, or continue to dwell on the fall and its consequences, inviting more mistakes caused by a negative frame of mind. A Scripture flashes through my mind that helps me with my decision: “The righteous shall fall, but they shall not be utterly cast down.” I suddenly grasp God’s perspective: he will use our successes and our failures to teach us about ourselves and to show the world his glory. “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” (Romans 8:28) I move on, accepting a new role. I admit imperfection and decide to skate “heartily as unto the Lord” for God’s glory rather than my own results.

Paul Wyle would go on to finish tenth.  But his lack of success there did not cause him to lose heart.  He persevered, and learned from his fall.  He eventually won the silver medal at the 1992 Winter Olympics in France.

I share this story because it is so easy to stay down when we fall.  God wants us to get up again.  Failure never has to be final.  We are on a journey, and God is able to use our stumbles and falls to make us better people, fully equipped to do his will and help others when they fall.  The NT says, “We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation” (Romans 5:3-4).

This Sunday we look at Core Value #6 – FAMILY PRIORITY!  For some of us, there have been some nasty, hurtful falls in this arena.  God doesn’t want us to give up on our families.  With the Lord’s help, let’s get on our feet again and go for the gold with our family relationships.  This will be a practical message for us all!

In other news, our missionary, Wilson Phang, has returned from Haiti.  Here is a portion of his report:

I spent 8 days in Port au Prince to provide care for the medical staff at one of the surviving hospitals there.  I arrived in Haiti to witness the tail end of the carnage – bodies piled high and amputations around the clock.  What a joy it was to see the city begin to have its critical medical needs met by the time I left. My last two days there, the hospitals were providing medical care to non-quake related needs.  The wards were half empty.We hear that there are many in the outlying areas that have not had any medical care or food aid.  However, we were also told that it was not safe to travel out there as mobs and gangs have formed in search of food and water.  I returned to Miami on the Feb 7th, to witness that city watch the New Orleans Saints overcome the Colts to win their first ever Super Bowl.  I could only think of the devastation Hurricane Katrina unleashed on New Orleans and was pleased to see the city rebuild.  I wish the same for Port au Prince.  But more so, that the people will turn back to God.Please join me in petitioning for the people of Haiti.

Love in Jesus,

Pastor John