CAPA Corner: The Olympians

    The Olympics are captivating as athletes compete against the best to be the best.  For many of the athletes, the games are a culmination of a lifetime of discipline and single-focus.  For some, to be at the games as an athlete and to represent their home country is a victory in itself.  It must be thrilling for the Olympians to cheer the other athletes, recognizing the amount of personal sacrifice it took to get to the Games.
    As the 2014 Olympic Games come a close, many lives of the athletes will change.  Some of the winners will return home to victory parades.  Others will watch videos of their performance and try to figure out what went wrong. Athletes will have decisions to make.  Do they re-commit to their sport?  Has this been their final competition?  Have their bodies accumulated too many injuries to go on?  Have they gotten too old to compete?  There will be some heart-wrenching decision-making.  
    You and I may never attend an Olympics, not even as a spectator.  But, as people of faith, we can learn from the commitment of these Olympians.  What would happen if we would emulate these athletes and their single-focused discipline—except focus on our relationship with God?  What if we prioritized our day with prayer?  What if we daily pursued the gold by living with honesty and integrity?  What if we fully invested our God-given gifts to be the person envisioned by God? 
    We can also become a team player, supporting others in their personal triumphs and failures.  For life is full of unexpected challenges along the way—just ask the Olympians.
Rev. Robin McCullough-Bade
St. Augustine Episcopal Church