Happy Father’s Day to all the dad’s out there! Even if your only babies are fur babies, I consider you a dad, too! :0)
I realize that I’m way late in the day on this one, but the inspiration for this post didn’t come to me until a few hours ago and I wasn’t near a computer. Better late than never, right?
You know when you hear a message or a quote or a saying and you feel as if it was written or spoken just for you? It’s been a LONG time since I felt that way – but one Sunday in January, my pastor preached a sermon about Never Giving Up. If you remember – at that time, I was right in the middle of an injury and had recently completed the Houston Half Marathon in excruciating pain. I knew right away that the message that Sunday was meant for me.
Pastor spoke about Derek Redmond, a runner for Great Britain in the 1992 Barcelona Olympics. Prior to the 92 games, Derek battled a long hard road of injury after repeated injury which eventually lead to 22 surgeries on his achilles tendon. Derek qualified for the 400 meter race and was a favorite to medal.
In the first round Redmond had run his quickest 400m in four years. "I was feeling absolutely 100% before the race," he reported in 2006. "I'd had two really good rounds without even trying and the night before the semi-final I'd talked with my father and my coach and we'd decided I was going to push a bit harder and try to get a good lane for the final.
"On the day everything went smooth. I got a really good start, which was unusual for me. I think I was the first to react to the pistol. My normal tactics were to get round the first bend and then put the burners on for 30m, accelerate hard. But by the time I'd got upright I was almost round the bend, much further than usual, and I decided not to bother, to save my energy in case I had to fight for the line. About three strides later I felt a pop."
Source: The Guardian
What happened next touched the hearts and lives of people all over the world.
From the moment Pastor’s message began, I was in tears. I balled through his entire message and even more while watching the video. This message was exactly what I needed to hear at exactly the right time.
Not only is this a fantastic message on not giving up, it also shows an excellent example on fatherhood.
“You don’t have to do this” Jim told his son.
“Yes I do” Derek replied.
“Well then” said Jim, “we’re going to finish this together”.
Just before they reached the finish line, with the crowd screaming in support, Jim Redmond let his son go, so that he could cross the line on his own.
What made this moment special was that it brought into focus not just the near-heroic desperation of a single professional athlete but a much more universal theme: the nature of parenthood.
Source: The Guardian
No one really remembers who won the 400 m race in the 1992 Olympics – the love and support that Jim Redmond showed to his son in front of the entire world far outshines any medal received on that day.
In an interview, Jim Redmond said, "I'm the proudest father alive, I'm prouder of him than I would have been if he had won the gold medal. It took a lot of guts for him to do what he did."
I’m blessed beyond measure. I have a wonderful man in my life – my dad – who’s always supported me in every endeavor I’ve taken on. He even came to cheer me on in Houston when I ran on a swollen and painful tendonitis stricken knee. He taught me that hard work achieves great things in life, he taught me to play hard and not give up when times get tough, and most importantly, he showed me through his every day actions how to love. Yes, I am blessed beyond measure!
Happy Father’s Day! You are the best and I love you!! :0)
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