The Feel Of The Ice!

I called my uncle in Langley, British Columbia (a suburb of Vancouver), about 90 minutes before the U.S. and Canadian hockey teams were to take the ice in the final event of the Winter Olympics.

“Unc,” I said, “I’m not sure who to root for in this game.” We had a good laugh and then he gave me an earful (very nicely, of course) and finished by saying, “There’s really only one team in this game.” And we laughed some more.

Uncle called it right! It was a great game and a great finish to the Winter Olympics. To all you non-hockey fans, all I can say is, “Get a life, eh!”

Some great stories of courage and discipline have come out of the Winter Games. How can you not be impressed and stirred by the dogged determination of Joannie Rochette, who skated just days after her mother died! Her mother came to Vancouver to see her daughter perform in the figure skating competition and died of an apparent heart attack shortly after arriving. The young woman decided to go ahead and compete in honor of her mother. All of Canada and millions around the world watched as she bravely skated her heart out and took the bronze medal in her event. It was very impressive!

One of the great stories of these Games involves the American four-man bobsled team. The first time I saw the American team, I said to Carol, “That driver doesn’t look like the average Olympian.” He was rather short, balding, and shaped like a fire hydrant, not exactly the picture of the slim, athletic Alpine skier or figure skater.

Steven Holcomb was the driver of the four-man sled that won the gold medal for the U.S. in their jet black sled they had named “Night Train.” It was the first time in 62 years that an American team had won this event.

What is even more remarkable than the amazing win was that Steven Holcomb was the driver. Two years ago Steven was legally blind due to an eye disorder called keratoconus. He didn’t say much about his disorder and adapted his driving to more by feel than by sight. But he knew that he couldn’t continue, as he was putting his teammates at risk. Can you imagine driving some of the top bobsled courses in the world at 90-plus miles per hour and not being able to see well enough to focus on the track?

Holcomb’s coach knew he was thinking about quitting and told him about an experimental process that he thought Steven should look into. The innovative surgical procedure included putting contact lenses behind his irises and the surgery fully corrected his vision.

While his eyes were deteriorating, Holcomb never thought he would be at the 2010 Winter Olympics and be a winner. After winning the gold medal, bringing to an end a six-decade drought for the Americans, Holcomb made the most insightful comment. “If I hadn’t had the eye problem, I wouldn’t know how to drive by feel, and we might not be in this position today.”

Early Sunday morning, as I read the interview with Holcomb on the Internet, I was really taken by his insight. Not long after that, Carol and I were driving to church and I shared with her what I had read, especially Holcomb’s statement, “If I hadn’t had the eye problem, I wouldn’t know how to drive by feel.” Carol turned and looked at me and said, “That’ll preach.” And she is so right!

Another famous team leader, also a driver (with a slightly different meaning to the word), was called “The Apostle” and he led his team in races all over the Roman Empire. Because no one else would step up, I have named his team “The Holy Ghost and Fire Express.” The Apostle coaching his team in the nation where the Olympics were birthed said, “We live by faith, not by sight” (2 Corinthians 5:7). He wanted them to know that by faith, they could get the “feel of the race” and not to be dependent just on what they could see or what the circumstances seemed to be dictating. In Steven Holcomb’s words, the Apostle wanted his team to get the feel of the ice and the track.

I think if the Apostle had an opportunity to sit down and talk with Steven Holcomb, he would say to him, “You’ve got it! You have learned one of the great principles of eternal truth. Now, in case you don’t already know, let me explain to you how to make the application to your whole life and to your eternal future.”

By faith, we get the feel of the track!