“You need to stay calm and run to the finish line.”
This is the advice of Justin Gatlin, American athlete who won Olympic medals in the 60, 100 and 200 metres dash.
Knowing how young children tend to look around while running, I had the perfect solution for our five-year-old’s first race: wait for her behind the finishing line. The result: our daughter focused on me and was the first athlete to reach the finishing line – running into her mother’s arms!
Our son became a marathon athlete when already a father or teenagers. Preparing for a race, he can’t do late nights anymore. On top of that, the right diet and appropriate shoes are of utmost importance. Likewise, I need the correct spiritual food and equipment for the marathon of life. I also need to focus on Jesus waiting for me at the finishing line, keeping in mind what He has taught me through personal Bible study and Holy Spirit inspired teaching.
I cannot allow myself to be put off by a fellow athlete’s accidental or even deliberate misstep. Jesus is waiting at the finishing post for him/her as well, after all. And should my fellow athlete trip or even misjudge the distance to the finishing line, my Jesus-love comes into play.
Nikki Hamblin and Abbey D’Agostino were caring personified when, during the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio, they collided in the 5000-metre heat. They first helped each other to their feet and checked that the other was okay before carrying on with the race – being the last to arrive at the finishing line, Hamblin helping the injured D’Agostino. For this display of sportsmanship the two athletes were awarded the Olympic Games’ rare Pierre de Coubertin medal.
“Leadership isn’t about winning. It’s about bringing people with you to the finish line.”
― John C. Maxwell
(Do have a look at 1 Corinthians 9:24-27, Hebrews 12:1-3)
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