Television does not hold a lot of pull on me. I rarely sit down and just watch it for entertainment or relaxation. For me, the T-V is my connection to a good movie. I do enjoy watching a good one that we have rented or from Netflix. Even the ones on Hallmark are great, but I go crazy with all of the commercials in between.
But the past few days have brought a new appreciation for our television with all of the excitement and action coming to us from around the world in Rio. With having to rest more these days after some surgery, I have enjoyed putting my feet up and becoming immersed in gymnastics and swimming, and even some volleyball. Wow, the commitment of these athletes toward their goal of winning the gold or even placing in the top three with silver or bronze, is just amazing. I can’t imagine having the focus and discipline to strive for four years with one goal in mind.
Two young gals especially just caught my attention. Simone and Katie. What struck me about both of them was their “down to earth” attitude about themselves, and that all of this hype from being part of the 2016 Olympics was just part of their daily ritual. Both are so firmly focused on doing their absolute best, and they just sparkle and shine when they talk about their journey to the world stage.
Simone Biles is a 4 foot, eight inch powerhouse. Her smile is huge, and she just beams when she finishes a gymnastic performance and lands smiling in front of the audience. Her story tugged at my heart. When she and her sister were just toddlers, their mom lost custody of them because of drugs. They became foster children until their biological grandfather and his wife could adopt them. So her grandparents are also her parents. The only ones she has ever known, and she is so respectful and thankful for that.
Her grandmother signed her up for a tumbling class after a school field trip one day because she just “loved to jump and flip around the house” all the time. She was just a very active little girl. And the rest is history as they say. Now she is nineteen years old, and is expected to win several gold medals at this year’s summer Olympics. Her grandpa says there are really two Simones…one who is the very focused gymnast, and one who is simply a teenager, loving all of the same things most teens enjoy. And he says she can switch modes from one to the other in a matter of seconds! It is a real joy to watch her share her talents.
Katie Ledecky has beautiful teeth that break out into the most inviting smile. Her reddish hair, dripping wet from the Olympic pool, just shouts happiness. She has loved to swim all of her life. When she broke her arm in fourth grade, she begged the doctor to wrap the arm in plastic so she could continue to be in the pool. She is also nineteen, and expected to win several gold medals. When she was fifteen, she shocked the world by coming out of nowhere to become a winner in some of the toughest swimming competitions. I loved seeing her pictures from growing up. They looked like any common little girl, USA, and only because of her determination and grit, has she risen to the place she is at. She says that she loves being in the pool and trying to better her time and skills. That’s what drives her.
Sitting and watching from the comfortable recliner in our living room was easy. I wasn’t the one having to struggle to reach the finish line or have enough breath and strength to complete the task. I began to think about our life in this world. Not a race that only occurs once in four years, but the one that we are in every day of our life. Our life given to us from God the Father. The life that we want to last forever, eternally, if it is our choice to accept Jesus as our Savior and live with him in Heaven.
The Bible explains it this way: “ That I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death; in order that I may attain to the resurrection from the dead. Not that I have already obtained it or have already become perfect, but I press on so that I may lay hold of that for which also I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus. Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet, but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 3:10-14
And finally, in I Timothy: 4:7-8 “ I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith; in the future there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that day; and not only to me, but also to all who have loved His appearing.”
As we watch this world stage in Rio this week, it is obvious that only those who press on to the final finish line win the prize. So it is with us. Matthew 24: 13 tells us “ But the one who endures to the end, he will be saved”. Keep on, keeping on, dear friends. Don’t give up. Keep looking up, from where your help comes from. God promises to always be with us and never leave us. Lean on that promise and His strength.
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