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At the age of 19, Derek Redmond shattered the British 400m
record. He went on to attend the 1988 Seoul Olympic Games but sadly had to
withdraw from the 400m race with an Achilles tendon injury. Redmond endured
numerous operations but was determined to recover his form and compete in the
1992 Olympics in Barcelona.
True to his aspirations, Redmond qualified for the Barcelona
Olympics and found himself at the start of the first semi-final heat. His
Father, Jim Redmond sat on the edge of his seat in the grand stand, watching
with baited breath as his son erupted from the blocks.
“Redman has got off very fast indeed,” declared the
commentator.
Things were looking good, which made what happened next
knock the breath out of the 65 000 strong crowd. Down the back stretch and less
than 200m from finishing line, Redmond grasped at his right leg and stumbled to
a halt before falling to his knees.
65 000 voices groaned in unison. But I am sure that there
was only one person in the entire stadium exploding from his seat – Jim
Redmond. As Derek began hopping along his lane, brushing away help and
determined to finish, Jim was barging down his aisle, vaulting over security
barriers and avoiding officials.
Derek had one thing on his mind: to finish the race. And Jim
had one thing on his: to help Derek do it. As Jim ran up to his son, Derek
steadied himself on his Dad’s shoulder, and they crossed the line together.
“Whatever happens (sic) he had to finish, and I was there to
help him finish. I intended to go over the line with him. We started his career
together. I think we should finish it together,” said Jim in an interview after
the race.
Recently, I have felt as if I have pulled a muscle in the
race of life. I am determined to finish, but like Derek Redmond I am hopping
along on one leg. Perhaps you feel the same way. If you do, I would like to
give you the same assurance that God gave me.
Your Father is not sitting up in the stands watching you
hobble along. He isn’t cheering from a distance or asking himself “I wonder what
he’s up to now, limping along when he should be running”. No, your Father is on the track with you. He
is holding you up with his arms. He wants to speak words of encouragement into
your ear. Your Father is a GOOD Dad like Jim Redmond ... but even better.
Jim Redmond said, “We started his career together. I think
we should finish it together.” The Bible says, “(God) who began a good work in
you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus” (Phil. 1:6). You must
just be determined to finish the race. And God will help you to do it.
Cheers for now - Ian
There's a fantastic story told by Rory Dyer of Glenridge about how he was dropped from the Hilton College first team for a bad performance and relegated to play in the thirds. He phoned his dad to break the news, suspecting that his dad would have all sorts of things to say about it. (His dad lived a long way from Hilton College and he did not anticipate a good reaction)...Game day dawned and Rory's rag-tag team took the field to face one of Hilton's arch-rivals, Michaelhouse. The game was being played on one of the subsidiary fields...As Rory led the team onto the field he heard a voice from the small group of parents on the sidelines: "You go Boytie!" - It was his dad who'd come all the way from Harrismith to watch his son play the most insignificant game of his life. It wasn't long before Rory was back on the first team. If I'm not mistaken he would become Hilton captain - play for Natal Schools - and even had his shoes set in bronze as a trophy - the Rory Dyer Fellowship Award.
ReplyDeleteNicely put Ian,
ReplyDeleteHow often I forget that we serve a beautiful good shepherd. The amazing thing is that even though i forget His faithfulness He never fails to forgives my unfaithfulness. More than we deserve more than we could hope for, always in His hands and unbelievably always in His heart.