GOING FOR THE GOLD

Well, as you know, the Olympics are in high gear. It has been so exciting watching the competition and getting to know more about the athletes. Michael Phelps has been quite an astonishment as he has won one gold medal after another in the swimming events.



I have to admit though, gymnastics have always been my favorite. I am amazed when I see the atheletes control their bodies and make them do things that I can't even phathom. It may be because yesterday I had to go to the orthopaedic doctor and get a shot of cordisone in my hip because I have pulled the tendon doing I don't know what!! So the thought of being able to jump up and grab a bar, let alone twist myself around it, is unbelievable. I would be lucky to be able to just hang there.



Last night as I watched the girls perform I was in awe at how they had trained for years for this one event. One gymnist, Alicia Sacramone, has been nicknamed "Beamer" because of her ability to do so well on the balance beam. She too had trained for years and this was considered HER event. After she mounted the balance beam she fell. First thing. Wham. Right off the bat - a huge deduction in her score. As she jumped up and did a flip to land on the beam her foot slipped and she fell completely off. She did jump back up and finish, but you could see the disappointment all over her face. Then, as she performed the floor exercises, again, the unthinkable. She fell again. Her feet slipped from underneath her. My heart broke for her as she realized that because of her performances the team had lost the chance at a gold medal.



There was a scripture that came to my mind. Psalm 17:5 says: "My steps have held fast to Your path. My feet have not slipped." It is so easy for our feet to slip. Alicia had trained for years and with what she thought was a very regular routine, her feet slipped.



That's how I view my walk with the Lord. It is usually in the everyday things that I have done for years, things that I am comfortable in, when satan comes and I slip up. My daily prayer has been that the Lord would keep my feet from slipping. That I would accomplish what the Lord would have me do without messing up. Oh, I know that we will slip, we are just human after all. But I do realize that it is only in the power of God's grace that I make through a day without falling.



Hope your steps are secure today!!