I woke up at 3:45AM. My leg had fallen asleep. I had to do that dreaded thing where I kick it really hard and feel the overpowering numbness travel down what it feels like just a big lump of flesh attached to my shins before my leg started to regain its senses. I couldn't fall back asleep. Yesterday (now that it's 5:14AM in the morning!) was Chinese New Year and also Valentine's Day. P and I had gone to an Olympics Party at Natter's Place, where I drank more than a few glasses of white wine. Then we headed to dinner at a really nice, cozy cafe right by the waters of the North Shore. The food was fantastic, and I especially liked the low-key decor (P may cringe at this comment of mine :P). We had wine with dinner, this time red. So, perhaps it's the wine, perhaps it's the excitement of the Olympics, perhaps it's because now I am stuck between a period of almost-finished-but-haven't-defended-yet for my Master's Degree, but thoughts are streaming through my head at lightning speed, and I am not expecting to go back to sleep for a while...
At Natter's we watched the Men's Moguls competition, and all had the pleasure of together witnessing Alexandre Bilodeau winning Canada's first Gold Medal on Home Soil. At the young age of 22 (?), I watched as he excitedly and emotionally talked about how his brother, who has cerebral palsy, has always been his inspiration to train and work hard. There was an innocence about the way Alexandre, spoke and I couldn't help but wonder if this young man has any idea of the significance of his win and that his name will now be written in the Canadian History books. Maybe though, to Alexandre, it was just about working so hard at something (can't imagine the sacrifices this young person has had to make up to this point in his life compared to his peers) and finally achieving his dreams. He was in the right place at the right time, and now he will be famous forever. Don't get me wrong, I am not for one second discounting his athleticism, not to mentioned a determined spirit beyond what most of us can wish for. I am just saying that I hope this first Gold Medal thing doesn't become what defines him forever.
No doubt the opening ceremony of the Olympics will draw a lot of criticism from many Christians. There was no real element of the LORD, no acknowledgment of Jesus and the cross. Instead, the very 'spiritual' ceremony focused largely on the beliefs of the Aboriginal Peoples (or at least that's my take, I've been told otherwise but I don't know). I, on the other hand, thought it was pretty fantastic. The light shows were beautiful, the music brilliant, the message, well I guess you can take it however way you like it. What I saw though, was a myriad of peoples from different nations, coming together to celebrate something mysterious, something good, something that makes us 'better' human beings. Some may argue that the Olympic Games can create a false sense of belief in our children that if you try at something hard enough, if you believe in yourself, then you CAN do it. But, everything is up for interpretation, and I refuse to believe that God would allow the Games to happen, that his spirit is so absent in the millions of people who planned, prepared, trained, worked, built, designed, whatever else verb, sooooo hard to make this happen over the past 7 years, that not much good can come out of it other than a false sense of self belief.
After we watched the Moguls competition, we were lounging around watching the pairs figure skating (loooove figure skating!) preliminaries. Then, a segment came on about Cindy Klassen. I watched in semi-disbelief and hidden excitement that Canada's Golden Girl is a Christian and that her Faith is a very important part of her life. The segment didn't show Cindy saying the word "Christian" or "Jesus", but it could be inferred that she is a Christian (the media is probably careful about airing anything that has those words in right, but I don't blame 'em). Just like Rob Bell said, anything that is true belongs to God. I agree. Perhaps this commercial will reach out to some people and they will become curious about Faith, and the spirit of God will lead them to truth, even if they first go through some twists and turns (if we trust God and His Sovereignty, He will lead them to truth if it's His will). But the amazing thing is that they aired it! I was so encouraged that I came home, youtubed her interviews and sent them off to a bunch of my Christian friends. Perhaps I should have sent them to my non-Christian friends too, but I didn't want to be imposing.
So I am sitting here, it's almost 6AM and I can feel that I am tired. What it is about the human spirit, the highs and the lows, that always draws me back to God? Between Sunday Service, to watching the Olympics, to dinner-ing with P, I couldn't help but feel that everything is connected by this one big God, and the same God is totally calling me to Him right now, at this very moment, to the point where I am so acutely aware of this keen sense of me wanting to be close to Him that I cannot sleep! Before I started blogging I looked up videos of Rob Bell and thought to myself as I watched, "Man, this guy is really into Jesus." He is so passionate about following Jesus, that it puts me to shame! I want to have the same passion Rob has, to follow Jesus. I want to be a true follower, a radical table turner, to party like a rock star with Jesus (this one's for P.... haha don't really know why I put it in there!).
So where does all this leave me? All these random thoughts. Well, I would say it leads me back to My God, whom all things belong to, and from whom all good and perfect gifts come. The Olympic Games make us better. Encouraged and inspired by the athletes, we are (I hope) brought together, and our high spirits make us treat each other better. When we are happy or in a good mood, we are nicer to people. So what's wrong with us being nicer to each other because we are happy that the Games are here? What would Jesus be doing if he was in Vancouver? He would probably spend some time on the downtown east side, administering to the poor and the sick. He would probably also spend some time in one of those LiveCity Locations, cheering on the athletes. He would probably bless Alexandrew Bilodeau, give him a pat on the back and say, "Good job", rather than telling him, "Don't you think you did all this by yourself, but it was God who made it possible." Let me be very clear that I do think God gives us the strength to do things we wouldn't be able to on our own and he makes the impossible possible. I just don't think Jesus would spoil a moment and pour cold water on this young man in this moment of triumph. Get what I'm trying to say?
God said "I Am Who I Am". Did any of us expect a piece on Faith, featuring one of Canada's top athletes, to be played on prime time television during the Olympic broadcasting of the Games being held in such a 'secular' city as Vancouver? God will make His Name known to those He wants to know Him. So folks, let's not worry about how others are not glorifying God, but more about how we are treating each other, about how we are living out the lives of Jesus in this complex and mysterious world which God created. Let's stop pointing fingers and being Scrooges, and just.. dance, because the Games is a celebration of the goodness of the human spirit, and as we are all created in the image of God, the Games is a celebration of well, God Himself :)
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