Is it just me, or have the Olympics been extra fun to watch this year?

There are compelling stories…

• Kaylia Nemour, winning the first gymnastics olympic gold for Alegeria (and any African nation) at just 17 years old
• Julien Alfred, runner from St. Lucia, winning the women’s 100M Dash and winning the first ever olympic medal for her country
• Nadia Hafez, fencer from Egypt, a doctor and pathologist, competing while 7 months pregnant
• And so many more….

There have been the stories of overcoming obstacles:

• Noah Lyles, who now holds the title for “Fastest Man in the World” shared after winning the 100M dash, “I have asthma, allergies, dyslexia, ADD, anxiety, and depression. But I will tell you that what you have does not define what you can become. Why Not You!”

We’ve gotten to watch the GOATS (Greatest of All Time):

• Steph Curry, Lebron James, Katie Ledecky (my personal favorite), and Simone Biles.

And then, there’s the USA Men’s Gymnastics Team – what a surprising delight! Two related moments….First, Stephen Nedoroscik, pommel horse specialist. You read that correctly, pommel horse specialist. This guy looks like an engineering major (no offense). He has one job. One specialty. Pommel horse. During the team all around, he cheered his teammates and then returned to meditating, until it was his turn to do the one thing he came to Paris to do. The USA medal depended on it. His coach told him that a medium difficulty routine would do, and Stephen went out there and crushed his most complicated routine. He went for it. And if you haven’t watched the clip of the USA men’s team handing him back his glasses and jumping around and lifting him in the air, you should…because Stephen delivered. (NBC Coverage of Event)

The more I watched and read and thought about this story, I wondered if we might need to take a page out of Stephen’s book. We do not have to be, nor are we called to be, all things to all people. Too often we think we must be excellent at all things – that’s when we spread ourselves too thin – whether with energy, time, or money – and then nothing is done well, and we burn out quickly. Each member of the Olympic team had 1-2 areas of expertise, and together, they were victorious! This is not only true of our personal lives, but of our shared life as The Church. Perhaps we should focus on a few ministries that bring joy, excitement; ministries that challenge us, growing our faithfulness, and excel at them. When we do that, it will mean transformation not just for us, but for our community.

And then a second moment, the celebratory JOY of the USA Men’s Gymnastic’s team, not only in the moments after Stephen clenched the bronze, but on the podium as well. PURE JOY, celebrating their hard work and its reward, as a team. There’s something about the image of their exuberant joy on the podium for bronze that could teach us a thing or two about gratitude. Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus (1 Thessalonians 5:18).

Food for thought. Can’t wait to see what this final weekend of Olympics brings us.

See you in church.

Yours for the journey,
Pastor Molly

P.S. Who knew that kayak cross was a sport? Not me!