GOLD MEDALIST

I am soooo tired. I stayed up until almost 1:30 this morning watching the Olympics. It was fascinating. I wanted to watch the girl's gymnastic competition.

I have always enjoyed the sport, but it's also very interesting learning about the girls. As I listened to the reporter describe how the Chinese girls are taken from their parents at such an early age and only get to see them for a few days a year, my heart broke. I guess having children out of the nest now myself, and how I long to see them, I can't even begin to understand what these parents would be feeling. This is their "job", as one Chinese gymnast put it in an interview.

Then there are the others, whose parents are with them all the time. Such as Nastia Liukin. She captured the Olympic gold medal in the all-around competition last night. Her parents have been with her from the beginning. They helped train her and encourage her. They certainly knew what they were doing because they were also gymnasts. Her father, Valeri was a double gold medalist at the 1988 Seoul Games, and her mother, Anna was the 1987 rhythmic world champion. They were both reluctant to let Nastia begin formal training, but since they could not afford a babysitter, Nastia tagged along to the gym. From the sidelines, Nastia began imitating the moves of the gymnasts she watched and was soon outperforming them. Unable to ignore their four-year-old's natural talent, they relented.

So began her path to the Beijing Olympics this year. I have thought about how she "imitated" the moves of those around her. How, as she watched them, day in and day out, she took on their habits and their lifestyles. I couldn't help but think about my girls. How they watched Randy and I when they were small and how they imitated us. I remember how on Sunday mornings I would get them dressed (alone, of course, because Randy had been at church since daybreak!!!!) and then I would get myself dressed. I could hear them in the den as they pretended to preach and lead music. I saw them take on the habit of Bible study and quiet times. I saw them begin having a soft heart to what God was teaching them.

All of this has reminded me of who is watching us. What do they see in us? What habits and lifestyles will they form because of us?

My congratulations go out to Nastia. I was so proud to be an American as she took her place on the podium along with Shawn Johnson, the other American who won the silver medal. I cried as I watched the American flag be hoisted up and our National Anthem was played. What a shining moment for us all.