Not that I have already obtained all this or have already reached the goal: but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. Beloved, I do not consider that I have made it my own; but this one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on towards the goal for the prize of the heavenly*call of God in Christ Jesus.
Philippians 3:12-14
The Olympics are drawing to a end and the closing ceremonies will take place tonight. I found myself squeezing in viewing time whenever possible during the past two weeks and actually saw several Canadian gold medal performances. I was excited to see Alex Bilodeau's medal ski run, but the golden moment was his inspirational brother, Frederic ,celebrating the victory on the sideline. I am in awe of Brian McKeever's accomplishment as a blind skier in the midst of sighted competitors, although getting bumped from his race at the last moment must have been a huge disappointment.
In my books bronze medal winner Joannie Rochette gets a platinum medal for courage, continuing to compete in skating despite her mother's sudden death. Devon Kershaw, our former neighbour in Sudbury and the same age as our son Isaac, along with partner Alex Harvey, finished higher in their cross country ski event than any Canadians before them, although they finished fourth.
There it is. Medals are great and I got a lump in my throat when the national anthem was played each time. But there were other forms of victory, without a doubt. The apostle Paul encouraged us to press on toward our spiritual goal in Christ, an allusion to Greek foot races. He doesn't mention gold, silver or bronze, or "owning the podium"-- just the endeavour of effort and excellence.
Have you enjoyed the Olympics? Does the medal count matter to you? Any highlights?
6 comments:
The entire thing has been, for me, just awesome. Some of the international criticism (hi, Great Britain, can't wait to see what you pull off in 2012!) has been a little heavy handed, but then again, who cares in the end?
Tonight's hockey finale should be a great conclusion to what's been an amazing tournament. We should be proud of all of our athletes, and what they and the COC have done to stir all of our hearts from coast to coast.
Well said Ian! I too have had a lump in my throat each time I heard the national anthem. It has been interesting to watch my child's reaction to the games. There are some events she is right into, others, she really doesn't care about. She is well aware that Canada has won the most golds ever, in fact it was her who pointed that out to me. We've enjoyed the Olympics and the medal count doesn't really matter, all of the athletes have done their best. It is the first time I can remember seeing so much patriotism in Canada, and it's awesome!!
Now we just have to see if the men's hockey team can live up to expectations....
Living in Canada, as an American, has been very interesting during this winter Olympics. I enjoyed watching the Olympics and I cheered for the Canadians, but I have to admit that I held my tongue many times when I wanted to cheer for the Americans. It was kind of a lonely experience.
One of my favourite moments of the Olympics was when American, Evan Lysacek, won the gold over the Russian who didn't believe you were a man if you didn't do a quad. Evan won the gold without a quad. Yay!
That being said, congratulations to the Canadians who won the men's and women's hockey games. Go Canada!
We will gladly give you dual citizenship Deb. I'm with you Ian and Nancy -- it was great to back in the achievements of others!
Yes, I have enjoyed and watched the Olympics more than I expected. The medal count doesn't and didn't matter to me because all those who took part in the Olympics were and are winners as they represented our best. There were many highlights throughout the past 2 + weeks. I truly appreciated the coverage provided by the CTV and Rogers networks and the background stories on the athletes. They were everyday people with dreams just like me. The mentoring stories of the athletes and the story about the Olympic flowers (put together by women needing a second chance) were awe inspiring to me. I, also, appreciated the more positive aspects of the news for the past 2 weeks. Olympic snapshot memories for me will include: the grief and sadness of Georgia's lost of a promising athlete, Alex's humbleness in becoming our first gold medal winner, the grace and artistry of Tessa and Scott, the exuberant delight of Jon Montegomery, the perservance through adversity of Joannie Rochette, the continuous generousity of Clara Hughes, the disbelief and pain of Michael Douglas in being disqualified and not being able to participate, the heartbreaking disappointment of Chrysal Bernard's curling team, the triumph of Martin's curling team, Catrina May Doan finally being able to light the caldron, and the whole country collectively holding it's breath as we reacted to the men's hockey team up and down ride to Olympic gold. I'm sure a question in the future will be - where were you when Crosby scored the 'golden goal'?
Thanks for that thoughtful addition to the discussion Susan.
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