It's been raining on and off most of the day today. We need it on this side of the Divide. I could never have imagined how different the weather can be on two sides of a mountain range; this past winter, most of the resorts to the West of the Continental Divide had record years for snowfall (Copper Mountain had 400 inches - second highest since 1972), while the front range had a record LOW year for moisture. In any case, the rain this week will drop the risk of fire for another few days.
I am preaching again at The Journey this weekend for the next installment of our "God in the Movies" series. Only one problem: it looks like we'll get rained-out tomorrow (Friday). So, how do you preach a sermon about a movie no one has seen? Hmmm. This will be a challenge, especially if I don't want to give away the whole story for those who've never seen "Secretariat". I enjoyed watching Secretariat for the first (and second and third) time this week, and true stories always capture my attention. Of course we all know that "based on a true story" only means that some of the content of the movie has any resemblance to reality - and the rest is thrown in to add more audience appeal. In any case, this movie is just as much about a woman's will to never give up as it is about the big red horse himself. He was a truly amazing animal, and his track speed records at the Kentucky Derby and the Belmont Stakes have never even been approached by any horse since. In doing some research for my message, I came across an interesting fact: during the necropsy following Secretariat's death, it was discovered that his heart was enormous - weighing approximately 22 lbs, which is 2.5 times that of a normal horse. No wonder he could run as fast and as far as he did. An extremely large heart is a trait that occasionally occurs in Thoroughbreds, linked to a genetic condition known as the "x-factor".
This got me to thinking about how some people seem to have their own "X-Factor" in life - the will to keep going against incredible odds. Perhaps only a small percentage of men and women have been blessed with an enormous heart (figuratively speaking) that gives them an almost unfair advantage over other, "normal" people when it comes to courage, stamina and inner-strength. That would certainly explain why only a small percentage of the population ever reach true greatness in business, or politics, or religion. Or there's another possibility. Perhaps the "Secretariats" of this world were not necessarily born with disproportionately large hearts, but their hearts grew over time as they overcame one obstacle after another until they became men and woman of greatness.
I personally believe that God provides every one of us with innumerable opportunities to grow to higher heights - through trials, tragedies, set-backs and disappointments. I don't believe He has created any human being for mediocrity; we choose that road ourselves. Our greatest enemy is fear, and fear will keep us bound up in our own little world of self-pity and timidity. God is great, and He's destined us for greatness wherever He has planted us; it all depends on our willingness and ability to hear His voice and to follow His lead.
Daphne and I have had what feels like more than our fair share of hurdles to overcome in the past three years, and discouragement and fear were always by our side waiting to tackle us and knock us out of the game. But God had always placed people around us as cheerleaders to give us strength and to remind us of who God is. The choice has always been ours alone - to give in to fear and doubt, or to press on in faith even though all the 'evidence' seemed to be against us at the time. And when no one was around to lift up our arms, His Spirit would come and whisper: "Keep running! I won't let you go! We'll get through this thing together." And we always did.
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