I absolutely love the Olympics. I normally don’t watch much TV, but when the Olympics are on, I watch all day long. Doesn’t even matter what sport it is (though my favorite is gymnastics). Anything Olympics-related is simply awesome.
I love the sports aspect of it. I love the pageantry. I love the emotional highs and lows. I also love what a wonderful opportunity it is to teach my children. You can teach about everything from sports to geography, science to foreign languages to math. But the best lessons of all are about character.
From watching and discussing the Olympics, children can learn about diligence; endurance; being a good sport; how to deal with discouragement; how to act around people who are different from you; and how to determine what really matters in life (the answer’s not “being #1”).
Sounds like lessons we as moms need to learn, too, especially since we participate in our own kind of Olympics—the Motherhood Olympics.
In the Motherhood Olympics, there are some team sports and some individual sports. Each of us is enrolled in some events in each category. There are some things we must have the help of others to do; there are some where we’re largely on our own.
In either case, we have to train for our events. We need to work at being able to do well in motherhood. An Olympic athlete doesn’t win her event by accident. It takes training and endurance practiced over a period of years. Likewise, we moms won’t succeed at parenting by accident. We need to put effort into it. This should include, first of all, staying close to the Lord and seeking His wisdom. But it might also include things like reading books, listening to sermons, consulting others, being proactive, and making plans.
But there are two important differences between the Motherhood Olympics and the traditional Olympics. The first difference is that moms don’t pursue a gold medal; they pursue the goal of hearing Jesus say, “Well done.” And unlike the traditional Olympics, women in the Motherhood Olympics are guaranteed to win. Will they be perfect? No. But they can be faithful. In the traditional Olympics, perfection or near-perfection is what wins you the medal. In the Motherhood Olympics, what wins you Jesus’ approval is faithfulness.
The second important difference is that unlike the traditional Olympics, in the Motherhood Olympics, everyone can win. When you’re an Olympic gymnast, swimmer, or runner, it’s technically possible that someone else could share the gold medal with you. But it’s highly unlikely. Even if it does happen, the odds against more than two people sharing first place are astronomical (unless it’s a team sport).
In the Motherhood Olympics, however, billions of moms can win. That’s because, as we said earlier, all that’s required to win is faithfulness. Be faithful with the husband you are given (if you are married), the children you are given, and the resources you are given, and you will win.
It’s simple, though not easy. But then, training for an Olympic event never is. Yet you never hear an athlete standing atop the podium saying, “You know, this wasn’t worth all that work.” Hardly! They all say, “It was worth it…all the long hours…all the effort…all the exhaustion…the money…the pain….”
Likewise, you never hear a mom who receives Jesus’ approval say, “This isn’t worth it.” Instead, she says, “It was so worth it… all the long hours…all the effort…all the exhaustion…the money…the pain….”
You’re in the race, mom, like it or not. You are at the Olympics. The crowd—which consists of others who have gone before you, not to mention your precious family—is watching you. How will you run? Will you give it everything you’ve got?
I guarantee you that nothing is worth more than winning this one.
Hebrews 12:1—Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.