Article June 11, 2012 Issue

Shining like stars

Heather Hayward

When a member of my family took part in and actually won a national ballet competition at the tender age of eight, her reaction was simply: “I didn’t do it. God did!” She had glimpsed a wonderful spiritual truth that echoes the words of Christ Jesus, “I can of mine own self do nothing” (John 5:30).

The youngster’s pure expression of divine qualities was evidenced in her performance that day. Loveliness shone from her as she proved her understanding of the principles of discipline, grace, and precision. Her moment of triumph was very special at that point in her experience.

This relates in several ways to the thousands of athletes who’ll be competing in the Summer Olympics. The joy of participation and the honor of representing their countries will be a rich reward for the concentrated preparation, perseverance, and sacrifice each one has made. However, they’ll need to be wise about the cult of personality that dominates the media at such times. Great attention goes to the winners, while the rest scarcely get a mention and quickly become no more than “also-rans.”