Olympic Dreams and Broken Hearts

First, let me say how much I love the Olympics!  I love hearing the stories about the athletes and I love seeing all of their hard work pay off.  It gives me such pride, not only for our American athletes but for all the athletes- that despite all of our differences we can come together for sports.  When the athletes have fallen, or you hear this great story about an athlete and things just don't go their way, my heart breaks for them..  When Nodar Kumaritashvili crashed my heart literally stopped as I said a prayer, knowing that it wasn't going to be good... And when athletes excel and you see all of their hard work come to fruition, my heart rejoices with them ESPECIALLY for the Americans.

In my last post, I talked about my excitement for the games.  I related my favorite Bible verse to the training that goes into competition, and my grandfather's last written words to me.  And there are two performances from this last week that really stand out to me that I wanted to write about:

     First, Evan Lysacek, where do I begin with him?  I watched Evan in the short program and my eyes filled up with tears as his scores were revealed.. His passion, his hard work, his dedication, you could see it all across his face.  If you know me, you know I am a sucker for sports, and that I tear up pretty easily when it comes to feel good stories.  Thursday, I watched the long program as I sat in my hotel room.  Evan truly had the skate of his life.  He was so sharp, so precise on the ice, and despite not having a quad, he skated clean.  As I dancer, I can say that's always the way to go.  When I had dance auditions for instance, if I wasn't feeling like I could do a triple pirouette, then I would do a clean double.  It's better to land your turn rather than hobble around going for a turn you are unsure of.  Not to take anything away from the talent of Plushenko, because he is an amazing ice skater, but he just wasn't as good.  Not technically, and not in show, and that was proven with the fact that both skaters scored 82.80 in  program components, the score that measures artistry.  It was Lysacek's technical component score that won it for him.  THAT score measures things like jumps (including Lysacek's triples and Plushenko's quad).  When Plushenko's scores came down and I realized, along with everyone else, that Evan had won Gold, I exclaimed, "he won! he won!" with tears in my eyes!  I can't describe how I felt, but it was just so awesome to see him hugging his coach, his choreographer, the shot of his mom in the audience.  And then to watch the whole family be interviewed, and to hear Lysacek give so much credit to all of his support.  There are so many factors to winning, but can you imagine how much harder it would be if you didn't have a support system?  Congrats on a well deserve gold! [totally off subject, but as I am writing this, I just heard that Evan and Nastia Liukin are dating!  Not sure what truth there is to it, but I think they are a cute couple!  And despite different sports it must be easy for them to relate.]

     Now, the second, Apolo Ohno.  Before I get started, let me clarify that I do not know Apolo Ohno, I do not know his religious affiliation or if he has one at all, I am just making an observation based off the athlete I see on TV and how much it correlates to my previous post..  You see, he gets it!  Ohno gets what competition and the Olympics is all about.  Coming into the 2010 Winter Olympics, Apolo Ohno was one of the MOST talked about athletes, and arguably one of the most successful speed skaters.  Many people might have looked at his finish in Saturday's race as a failure.  Why? because he didn't win gold?  Ohno was in last place with a little less than a lap and a half to go.  Rather than settling for 5th place, Ohno gave it EVERYTHING he had.  And he won the bronze medal becoming the most decorated Winter Olympian with 7 medals.  I don't know what in that scenario says "fail".  Remember what my grandfather said?  

No matter how hard we try we cannot win every race we enter, but it’s a certainty that if we don’t enter the race, we will absolutely never win.   It is just as much a certainty that if we enter the race and give it our utmost effort, then we may not win, but we will never be defeated.  If, when the race is over, we can say to ourselves, “I did the best I could”, then we haven’t been defeated.   There is only one Gold Medal winner in each Olympic event, and the one who wins it deserves all the honor and credit that goes with winning - - but those honors and that medal are given as recognition by others.  The true satisfaction to those Gold Medalists has to be that, “they did the best they could”.  

Did you see Ohno's interview after the 1000 meter final?  "I really had to fight," he said. "I can't wait to watch the tape and see how I came back from last place to win bronze."  He won bronze because he did HIS best and he gave his all.  Ohno's seventh medal broke a tie with long-track speed skater Bonnie Blair.  Despite that, despite being 'branded' so to speak as the most decorated American in the history of the Winter games, he explained, "I don't put labels on myself, I consider myself an athlete on my third Olympic Games, working my heart out. My goal was to come out and put my heart and soul into the Olympic Games and I've done that."  That's giving it all you have, your best.  Do you know how many athletes would have fallen if they had been in Ohno's position when he slipped from second to last?  His ability to keep skating showed strength and skill only learned through hard work, dedication, and practice.  And had he wiped out, he might have taken other athletes with him.  Instead, all 5 skaters in the final finished the race.  Goes with my little quote, "success is not measured by what you achieve..." there is so much more to success than winning first place.  Ohno is a winner.. he is successful not just in the last two Olympics, but in THIS Olympics.  And he has two more events to go!  I also have to commend his sportsmanship... Many might recall the 2002 Olympics in Salt Lake City, and the South Korean's dislike for Apolo Ohno.  The South Koreans believe Ohno stole the gold from Kim Dong-sung, who won the 1,500 but was disqualified for blocking.  Despite all of the tension the announcers have been discussing you wouldn't know it watching Ohno.  On the podium, Ohno put his right arm around Lee Jung-su as they posed for photos.  And before that, as he skated around the rink AFTER the race, Ohno patted his Korean rivals on the shoulders.  I hope Ohno gets another gold from this Olympics whether in the 500 or the 5,000 relay- not only is he an American, he's from where I was born (Seattle, WA) and he is a great athlete with class and humility.  Very respectable.. He has not won gold, but he has embraced the moment and is embracing the experience.

  Psalm 147:3 "He heals the broken-hearted and binds up their wounds."

If you knew me my freshman year of college you went through a lot with me.  If you are reading this, and you didn't know me then, you are about to learn a little more.  In the summer of 1999, I met a young man named Jonathan Varner, or Jon as many of us called him, and we stayed in touch over the years.  I went to visit Jon at A&M my senior year of high school and fell in love with the school!  I knew when I left that campus that I was going to go to that school.  I'm sure Jon loved that since he got to help me move in- all the way up to the fourth floor of my dorm!  haha I will never forget how much stuff he almost broke, in fact my printer still has a huge scrape along the side from him dropping it.  He was just trying to carry too much.  We always had a blast together and started to date.  On Friday, October 11th, after class I headed north to the DFW area for pageant stuff and talked to Jon on the phone as he drove home to the San Antonio area.  He was helping his dad build a garage apartment for him to stay in whenever he came home... Sunday I talked to him in the morning- I was on my way to dance at a pageant and he was on his way to church.  That night after the pageant was over I was just too tired to drive back to College Station, so I stayed at my sister's house and decided to wake up early the next morning and drive back.  I called Jon and left him a message, but got no answer.  I called him Monday after my first class and text him that night with no response.  Tuesday, I had to run to Academy and got turned around in College Station.  I called Jon because he loves that place and I knew he could get me there, but at this point I was mad he had not answered or returned my calls so I can not say my message was really that sweet.  That night my girlfriend Jessica came to pick me up at my dorm and drive me to Breakaway (a non-denominational worship service for college students).  on the way there my friend Randi called.  She asked if I was sitting down.  I told her I was in my car and she followed up with, "you're not driving are you?"  At that point I knew something was wrong with Jon.  Randi introduced me to Jon and had met him the year before I had.  She was the one to tell me that Jon had been killed in a car accident on that Sunday, October 13, 2002.  Jon and his friend Bradley had plans to leave right after church and come back to A&M.  But in between Sunday school and church, Jon realized he had left his history paper back at home.  Jon went back to get the paper and never made it back to the church.  Five people, including three high school students, were killed that day when the youths' car struck Jon's oncoming pickup truck.  State troopers say the four kids were passing in a no-passing zone, when they hit Jon head on.  All four teenagers died instantly, but Jon fought for his life for 10 hours.  He died Sunday night at University Hospital in San Antonio of multiple internal injuries.   

I can't tell you how much my heart broke.  The fact that just earlier that day I left him a message on his phone and I was mad that he wasn't talking to me?!?!  I was angry at him and he wasn't even alive?? Jessica drove me to Jon's house where I talked with his room mates and made plans to ride with them to the memorial and funeral and get a hotel with them.  I can't describe how much that experience changed my life.  How much I cried, how many times I asked why, and how I just didn't understand.. and the worst, I couldn't sleep...  Soon after that, my uncle passed away and it was just a lot to take in all at once.  Now, I can say that Jon's death taught me a lot about life, about relationships and religion, and how important every day is.  I learned how much I could be comforted when I put my faith in God and truly depended on Him to lift my spirits and fill my heart with joy.  In a way, I'm thankful because the struggle, the test, the heartache helped build me into the strong, passionate woman who loves the Lord.  God always has a plan...

I share that story because a girl I competed in pageants with is going through something very similar right now.  Saturday her boyfriend was killed in a horrible accident along with 3 other people in East Texas.  A Lincoln sedan traveling east of Nacogdoches,  drove into west-bound traffic, and struck a Chevrolet Malibu on the left side of the vehicle. The van ricocheted off of the Malibu to hit a Toyota Avion head on.  Her boyfriend was in the Toyota and was pronounced dead at the scene.

I know what she is going through... And I know that most of us have lost someone close to us and can relate to the devastation she is feeling.  I ask that you remember that God will not give you more than you can handle.  "¹The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not be in want. ² He makes me lie down in green pastures,       he leads me beside quiet waters, ³ he restores my soul.  He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake. ⁴ Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. ⁵ You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies.  You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.⁶ Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever." Psalm 23:1-6  As my friend Dave shared, life isn’t always easy and sometimes circumstances don’t work out the way you think they should, but even in the midst of some uncertainties, you can be sure of certain truths. You can trust Jesus. He will reveal himself to you when you seek Him with all of your heart, soul, and mind.  He will comfort you soul.  He will make you strong when you feel like you are weak and don't think you can go on.  He lifts you up- Isiah 40:29-31.

Please pray for my friend.  Pray for her strength.  And pray for the Slaughter family as they cope with their loss.