I don't know if you've been watching the Olympics, but my wife and I are avid fans, especially of figure skating. While I mostly follow it during the Olympics, my wife watches every figure skating competition available, including the Grand Prix, Nationals, Worlds, exhibitions, and especially the Olympics.

We're both fans of Ilia Malinin, the "Quad God" from Vienna, Virginia. He was a clear favorite to win gold in men's figure skating because of his impressive technical skills, which had helped him win his last 14 competitions. He performed well in the short program but struggled in the long program, missing jumps and falling twice. To our surprise, he didn't even medal.

After this disappointment, we would have understood if he had stormed off, but instead, he congratulated the Kazakhstani skater with a hug and spoke encouragingly to him. He took responsibility for his performance in interviews, showing true sportsmanship and what a real Olympian is. He demonstrated the quote: "The true test of character is not in victory, but how one handles defeat," and he showed this to the world.

Ilia's character shone through as he stayed in Italy to support his teammates. He was in the stands celebrating when Alysa Liu unexpectedly won gold in women's figure skating. Other skaters displayed similar Olympian spirit—Amber Glynn rebounded from a poor short program, where she was 13th, to finish 5th overall, showing grace and comforting others along the way, even shielding a crying Japanese skater from the cameras until she could compose herself. Maxim Naumov competed after losing both his parents in a tragic plane accident last January in DC, reminding us all that just being there was a victory. We were also impressed by how the US figure skating team supported their teammates—cheering them on when they won, comforting them when they lost —and by how each member knew their team would be there with them, no matter what.

Shouldn't we, as Christians, support each other like this? Hebrews 12:1-2 encourages us, "Let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles us. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him, he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God." We're all in this race together, with so many cheering us on. If we falter or fall, we need others to encourage and help us up.

I remember a marathon video of a woman on track to win who collapsed. She managed to get back up, only to fall again. Another woman, who could have easily passed her to win the race, stopped instead to help. Supporting her, they jogged together to the finish line. When they reached the finish line, the woman assisting let her companion cross first, allowing her to claim victory. In that race, there were two winners, and the world was watching.

Shouldn't this be how we treat each other? We are all in the same race, and we should encourage each other to run it, not tear each other down to win. Then let us run the race set before us because "the race is not for the swift, but for those who keep running." And we do have a destination. Joy is not in where we have been or where we are, but in the Person who is waiting at the end. And we all know who that is, and He's cheering us onward, too.

Take care,

Bill R