Hurdles

As I write this, I am watching the gold medal game of women's beach volleyball from the Olympics in London. Unfortunately, I already know who wins. NBC's primetime program is on delay because of the time difference between Great Britain and the U.S., and after I logged off of my email earlier today, it took me straight to MSN, where the top headline announced the winner of the match. Really, MSN? You had to put it in big bold letters where I couldn't help but see it? You really just didn't want me to be as interested in watching the match?

Isn't it funny how a person can spend hours laying on the couch watching the Olympics? The games feature the greatest athletes in the world--people who have disciplined themselves and trained in order to be in pristine physical shape. And I celebrate that by....inactivity. I feel like the people who compete in the Olympics probably aren't people who would watch much of the Olympics themselves. They'd be too busy running and lifting weights and drinking Gatorade or something. In spite of my lethargy over the past couple weeks, watching the athletes has motivated me to start getting into better shape. I even bought a new pair of running shoes so that I can make it a habit of running. The only thing I hate worse than getting up early and jogging is to waste money, so the fact that I've put some cash down on these shoes should be adequate motivation. 

Earlier tonight I watched a few heats of the men's 110-meter hurdles. I really enjoy watching hurdles because it reminds me of my days as an athlete. That's right, I was on my middle school's track team. Don't act so surprised. Especially since there were no cuts, and anyone who wanted to compete could. In any case, when I was in seventh grade, I was a hurdler. Not a good one, mind you. This was due to a couple reasons. For one thing, I was dreadfully slow. For another, I was scared of falling over a hurdle. The idea of tripping over a hurdle and tumbling face-first to the rubber track seemed unpleasant to say the least, so I took great care to ensure I cleared each one comfortably.

I can proudly affirm that during my entire athletic career, I never tripped over a hurdle. Cleared every one just fine. However, I also never won a race. I never received a ribbon at a meet. I never even won a heat. I always arrived at the finish line free of scraped knees, but I also always arrived after several other runners. 

A good hurdle can't be afraid of the hurdles. He doesn't jump as high as he can in order to guarantee a safe passage. He stays as low as he can, barely scraping over the barriers during his race to the finish. Sometimes, he might even knock a hurdle, but he doesn't let that stop him. He keep making his charge. His focus is on the finish line, and if you watch the eyes of a hurdler during the race, they are always fixed at the finish, not on the hurdles.

In life, we all face a number of hurdles. We face difficulties and tragedies that threaten to trip us up. We are forced to deal with heartache and failed expectations and hardship--unfulfilled dreams, broken relationships. lost jobs, deaths of loved ones. The list could go on. However, just as an athlete doesn't live in fear of the hurdles, we shouldn't let the reality of living in a broken world cause us to stop moving forward. A hurdler keeps running hard when he brushes a hurdle, and so too a person who navigates life well doesn't give up when faced with an obstacle. He understands that the hurdles are part of the race, and when you get over one, there's another one waiting for you.

At the same time, a hurdler can't run the race like the hurdles aren't there at all. He doesn't run like someone competing in the 100-meter dash. Not fearing the hurdles doesn't mean ignoring the hurdles. Because if a hurdler was to run as if the hurdles weren't there, he would crash into the very first one and fall to the track in a heap of tears. 

There are some who try to live life as if the hurdles will never come. They think that life is an open track before them, and that it will be easy and comfortable. Such a person is unprepared to run the race well and is surprised when that first hurdle comes. But we shouldn't be surprised by difficulties in life. Jesus himself guaranteed that we would have trouble in this life (Jn. 16:33), and the one who crumbles under such difficulty is like the seed on rocky soil that springs up quickly but withers when trouble comes. 

It's not a bad idea to consider how you think of the track laid out in front of you in your life. Personally, there are times when I live in fear of the hurdles, and I do all I can to avoid them, which keeps me from living faithfully and steadfastly. At other times, I act like there shouldn't be any hurdles at all, and I get upset and complain when life doesn't go as I think it should. The goal, then, is to adopt the attitude of a true hurdler: prepared for the obstacles but unwilling to let them throw you off course. Keep moving toward the finish line.