Inspire Greatness

Today was an interesting day. My wife, my son, and I spent the day at the Cal State Long Beach track stadium volunteering for the Special Olympics. This was my first time, and it was a real joy. There was so much going on that it was almost overwhelming. Our job was to escort athletes to their event. We were working the the "bullpen." I particularly enjoyed this job because we got to meet a lot of different athletes. In addition to the events themselves, there was an Olympic Village adjacent to the track. They had a climbing wall, a small outdoor hockey rink, and a whole assortment of activities. There was something for everyone. That is for sure.

At one of the races, I escorted a young lady to the track, and she kept talking to me about how her parents were "somewhere in the stands" watching her. They are going to be "so proud of me," she said. I hoped that she would see her parents before the race began. As we got to the track, her eyes continued to scan the stands. Finally, at the fence on the edge of the track, she saw her father. She ran over to him before the race to say hello. They spoke for a few seconds, and then she returned to the race. I stood behind her as she got ready to run. It was then that I noticed the words emblazoned on her t-shirt, "Inspire Greatness." It was awesome.

Tomorrow is Father's Day. At church, I am preaching a sermon entitled "The Measure of a Man." The text is 1 Corinthians 13:1-13. Read it some time. The true measure of a man (or a woman, for that matter), according to the Apostle Paul is determined by one thing - by our ability to reflect the agape love of God to the people around us. I think that I was shown more love than I shared today. But, either way, I know that I was surrounded by greatness. Hopefully, I even inspired a little.