Friday, May 21, 2004
Friday, May 21, 2004
Jesus looked at them and said, “For mortals it is impossible, but not for God; for God all things are possible.”
(Mark 10.27
NRSV)
"Will I ever be able to run and play like the other children?" she asked her parents.
"Honey, you only have to believe," they responded. "If you believe, God will make it happen."
She took her parents' counsel to heart and began to believe that God could heal her. She practiced walking without her braces with the aid of her brothers and sisters. On her twelfth birthday, she surprised her parents and her doctors by removing her braces and walking around the doctor's office unassisted. She never wore the braces again.
Her next goal was to play basketball. The coach only agreed to let her play as a means of getting her older sister on the team. She was given an outdated uniform, but she was allowed to work out with the other players. One day she approached the coach and promised him if he would give her an extra 10 minutes of coaching each day, she would give him a world class athlete. He laughed, but seeing she was serious, half-heartedly agreed. Before long her determination paid off. She was one of the team's best players.
Her team went to the state basketball championships. One of the referees noticed her exceptional ability. He asked if she had ever run track. She hadn't. He encouraged her to try it. So after the basketball season she went out for track. She began winning races and earned a berth in the state championships.
At the age of 16, she was one of the best young runners in the country. She went to the Olympics in Australia and won a bronze medal for anchoring the 400-meter relay team. Four years later in Rome she won the 100-meter dash, the 200-meter dash and anchored the winning 400-meter relay team--all in world-record times. Wilma Rudolph capped the year by receiving the prestigious Sullivan Award as the most outstanding amateur athlete in America. Her faith and hard work had paid off.
In a sense, that is what Christianity is about. People opened themselves to God's Spirit and God's Spirit empowered them to do things they never dreamed possible.
Lord Jesus, led me to do things I never dreamed I could do for your glory. Amen.
