As someone who has zero athletic ability, I just love watching the Winter Olympics. There is so much drama, pain, tragedy and adversity. And all that before the athletes even get to the competition! I’m a people person, so I get into all the individual stories regarding the favored athlete of the moment. I want to know how some struggled to overcome debilitating injuries to make it to the Olympics. I’m interested in who brought their newborn baby to the games, and if their husband or wife is in the crowd cheering for them. I want to know how they stay grounded as a person in the midst of all the media blitz and adoring fans. Oh, and the games are fun to watch too!
It’s pretty obvious by now, that I’m very relationship minded, so I couldn’t help but wonder, how my husband and I would rate, if Marriage was an Olympic sport. Would we compete together, like the Olympic Ice Dancers do? Or would we compete against each other even though we are on the same team, as in the Down Hill Ski Racers for instance.
Not speaking for us per se, I see some marriages as USA against Russia. Slugging it out to see who comes out the winner. Not good, in other words.
Imagine this…you are at the wedding of close friends, it is time for the Best Man to give his toast to the happy couple and he says something like this: “To my newly married best friend, I hope that he and his bride win the bronze medal, or at least make the semi finals in this great life event called marriage!” That would be pretty shocking wouldn’t it? Because we all want to start out our marriages to win the Gold Medal, but if we don’t have a focus, a goal for our life together, we may not even come in second or third place in fact we may wipe out and get a DNF (did not finish)!
From the beginning of our marriage, my hubby and I made it our goal, to be on the same team. All our decisions are based on what is best for ‘our team.’ We learned (after sustaining some training injuries) that in an argument, you either win as a team or you lose as a team. There is no win/lose. If one of you loses the whole team loses. Sometimes, we just need to slow down enough to ask ourselves if the need to be right in our current situation, is what’s right for ‘our team.’ Will it move us further along the course to victory or will our unwillingness to listen to the heart of our spouse, cause us to crash.
As you may have noticed, marriage is under attack in our culture. Society, and all forms of media mock the institution of marriage now. It is time to restore the value of marriage and change the culture. Don’t settle for a bronze or silver medal for your marriage, invest your time and energy in it, so that you won’t ever have to experience a DNF. As for my team, we are far from perfect, but we will give our personal best, we won’t be satisfied with just making it to the games. We want the Gold!
“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.” Hebrews 12:1
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What a great concept! I have always thought of my husband and I as being on the best team there is and it is good to know that I'm not the only one thinking that Marriage is like a sport you work hard together through the wins and the losses but no matter what at the end of the day your still a team! Great One this time!
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