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The Runner-Up
After four years, the time has come once again for the Olympic games! The wall-to-wall excitement this summer has already started with each nation's team selections in June and continues on with the opening ceremony along the Seine River in Paris on Friday, July 26, followed by the Olympics and the Paralympics. We all cheer for our own country's competitors and rejoice when they win a medal. But the moment passes quickly, and it's on to the next event. The competitor who just missed receiving a medal is quickly forgotten even though they were behind by only a fraction of a second or a whisker of an inch.
Simply making the national team can be as rigorous as the actual Olympic competition. Here's an example. I watched the swimming trials for the American Olympic team and learned that there were over 1,000 swimmers who qualified to try out for about 50 spots on the swimming team. The pool of competitors was quickly narrowed down to eight finalists in each event. I was rooting for one swimmer in the women's 100-meter breaststroke final. She was a local girl, and I had watched her in local high school swim meets. Only the top two finishers were placed on the team, however, and she missed a spot on the Olympic team by only a fraction of a second. I'm sure that her oh-so-close finish time will be forever etched on her heart. Heartbreak!
Proverbs 15:13 – A glad heart makes a happy face; a broken heart crushes the spirit. (NLT)
Yes, the winner is elated, but the runner-up is quickly forgotten. One of my own runner-up moments — though mild in comparison to missing a spot on the Olympic team! — was a misspelled word in our county spelling contest. I have never misspelled "rhythm" since that day, however!
All of us can remember times of disappointment when something didn't turn out as we had hoped. Maybe it was a job that we had hoped for but did not get, or a car or a house dream that did not work out. There might have been disappointments in love, or grief due to a wrong decision.
We frequently hear the platitude that our struggles make us stronger. How so? On the most basic level, we learn that we can survive heartbreak and that life does go on. Our experience may help us through another disappointment that later on comes our way. Occasionally we realize in retrospect that our wish would not have turned out well. If nothing else, we can recognize that there is a rhythm (See? I got it right!) to life with joy and heartache taking turns along the way.
When we are overwhelmed with grief or disappointment, let's turn to God for comfort and compassion, for "He heals the brokenhearted and bandages their wounds." (Psalm 147:3 NLT)
Prayer: Dear Father in heaven, we know that You guide each step that we take, and You know well our sorrows and disappointments. May we trust You to carry us through these disheartening times while we also remember good times. Amen.
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By After four years, the time has come once again for the Olympic games! The wall-to-wall excitement this summer has already started with each nation's team selections in June and continues on with the opening ceremony along the Seine River in Paris on Friday, July 26, followed by the Olympics and the Paralympics. We all cheer for our own country's competitors and rejoice when they win a medal. But the moment passes quickly, and it's on to the next event. The competitor who just missed receiving a medal is quickly forgotten even though they were behind by only a fraction of a second or a whisker of an inch.
Simply making the national team can be as rigorous as the actual Olympic competition. Here's an example. I watched the swimming trials for the American Olympic team and learned that there were over 1,000 swimmers who qualified to try out for about 50 spots on the swimming team. The pool of competitors was quickly narrowed down to eight finalists in each event. I was rooting for one swimmer in the women's 100-meter breaststroke final. She was a local girl, and I had watched her in local high school swim meets. Only the top two finishers were placed on the team, however, and she missed a spot on the Olympic team by only a fraction of a second. I'm sure that her oh-so-close finish time will be forever etched on her heart. Heartbreak!
Proverbs 15:13 – A glad heart makes a happy face; a broken heart crushes the spirit. (NLT)
Yes, the winner is elated, but the runner-up is quickly forgotten. One of my own runner-up moments — though mild in comparison to missing a spot on the Olympic team! — was a misspelled word in our county spelling contest. I have never misspelled "rhythm" since that day, however!
All of us can remember times of disappointment when something didn't turn out as we had hoped. Maybe it was a job that we had hoped for but did not get, or a car or a house dream that did not work out. There might have been disappointments in love, or grief due to a wrong decision.
We frequently hear the platitude that our struggles make us stronger. How so? On the most basic level, we learn that we can survive heartbreak and that life does go on. Our experience may help us through another disappointment that later on comes our way. Occasionally we realize in retrospect that our wish would not have turned out well. If nothing else, we can recognize that there is a rhythm (See? I got it right!) to life with joy and heartache taking turns along the way.
When we are overwhelmed with grief or disappointment, let's turn to God for comfort and compassion, for "He heals the brokenhearted and bandages their wounds." (Psalm 147:3 NLT)
Prayer: Dear Father in heaven, we know that You guide each step that we take, and You know well our sorrows and disappointments. May we trust You to carry us through these disheartening times while we also remember good times. Amen.