Like so many others around the world, I’ve spent the past few days glued to the television watching the 2012 Olympics. They are exhilarating, inspiring, nerve-wracking, frustrating, and sometimes heartbreaking.
The athletes who win the coveted medals share something in common with leading-edge Boomers. They share in the quest for fulfilling a life purpose and calling.
It seems clearer for the Olympic athlete though: Use your God-given talents, skills, body, and mind; wrap them up in experience, knowledge and training; set a goal; stay focused, and persevere. Oh, and finish the race. In the “real life” of Boomers, however, a clear sense of fulfilling life’s purpose tends to gets a little blurred.
Encouraging this generation in finding purpose and passion in life is the core of Re-Ignite.© We need opportunities to step back and explore how God has led us through all of the experiences of life, how He has uniquely designed us, and ultimately, what He wants us to be and do in the second half of life. In the final analysis, we want to “finish well.”
It reminds me of an incredible story that came out another Olympic Games: 1968, Mexico City. It was well over an hour after the medals were awarded for the Men’s Marathon. A runner from Ethiopia had claimed his record-winning Gold and the audience was beginning to clear the stadium. And then there began a curious murmur as the crowd noted sirens, lights and one lone man limping into the arena. It was John Steven Akhwari from Tanzania. Barely trotting, and attempting to keep bandages wrapped around bleeding legs, he entered the final lap of his Marathon experience. The crowd began clapping and whistling and honoring this latecomer who was just crossing the finish line. When later asked why he didn’t give up, John Steven Akhwari stated, “My country didn’t send me 5,000 miles to the Olympics just to start the race. My country sent me 5,000 miles to finish the race.”
John Steven Akhwari knew his purpose. He persevered.
He finished well.
God didn’t ask us just to start the race…….
Written by Leona Bergstrom
Click here to view a video clip of Akhwari entering the Olympic stadium.
