Olympics

Aahh, the Olympics!  There is something inspiring about watching the best in the world give it their all on the slopes or in the rink.  Our family has been caught up these last two weeks in the drama, the triumphs, the defeats, and the amazing stories behind each athlete.  My younger daughters are spinning around the kitchen, dreaming of figure skating.  But what about all the stories that aren't told?
     I remember clearly the summer of 1992.  It was an Olympic year as well. I was just graduated from high school and newly married and, like now, found myself fascinated with the Olympics.  As I sat in the living room of our little four-plex, I watched the runners in Barcelona vie for the gold.  And I was inspired!  So I decide to go for a run, and then another.  I enjoyed running, but to be honest, I also dreamed of glory.  Pretty soon I was running good enough to catch the attention of the college cross country coach, who offered me a place on the team.  For four years I trained and raced; cross country, indoor track and outdoor track.  My times improved and I even earned a scholarship.  But as I pushed my body to its limits I began to realize I would probably never go to the Olympics. In fact, I wasn't even good enough to go to the Olmpic trials.  I couldn't even make it to the NCAA Division II National meet.
     Lately I've noticed my knee acts up.  It has a "catch" in it, and hurts sometimes when I try to do too much.  My mind started figuring the other day how many miles I might have run in college.  Let's see:  50 miles a week is probably a fair estimate times 50 weeks a year (it was probably 52, but just to be on the safe side) times four years equals....10,000 miles!!  Wow! No wonder my knee hurts.  I suppose our bodies are like cars.  The only go so many miles before they wear out.  Certainly we only have so many days to live here on this earth.  Our time is short.  Our health is limited.  I can't help but think of all those people who, like me, pour hours and years of their life into a sport.  The ones that don't end up on the podium.  What do they have to show for their efforts?   Is it all worth it?  I know for each person the answer to that is different.  I just don't want to waste the time and health I have been given.  But how do I make sure that what I put my energy and hours into is really worth it?  I think this is definitely a question worth asking.  When I get to the end of this life, I don't want to look back with any regrets.
Psalm 90:12  Teach us to number our days aright, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.