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How Far Can You Go
"...He laughs at fear, afraid of nothing; he does not shy away...." Last weekend I watched two young men, my son Trey and his friend Lonnie, test how far they could go. As competitors in the 2010 National Sporting Clays Championships at the National Gun Club in San Antonio, they dedicated their natural talents and learned skills to achieving optimum performance in their field.
Shift back to the quote above. It is from the Book of Job (39:19-24) when God is giving Job a talking to. These are the words you hear in the opening scene of the movie Secretariat. In the movie you see the greatest of all racehorses win the 1973 Triple Crown. Actually, Secretariat is the story about the horse that wasn't wanted, owned by the woman who wasn't respected, trained by the guy who never quite made it -- and who wins it all.
What is the connection here? How are participants in a Sporting Clay competition and a horse running for the Triple Crown alike? Living life ahead of you, focusing upon achieving your goals, accepting the natural gifts bountifully bestowed upon each and all. Scenes of Secretariat, a powerful running machine, invoked images of majesty and power and greatness. The awe-inspiring grace of the running horse, and the precise syncopated shots at flying clay targets, remind us to reach for our full potential, all the while crediting God's creative power.
Secretariat's owner, Peggy Chenery Tweedy says, "This is about life ahead of you and you run at it." Implicit is her telling us to pass beyond negative attitudes that held us back in the past; to look to a future goal; and to put on passion and perseverence. Then "...you run at it" with the majesty and power of the human body, created in God's image, to a fulfilled and unique destiny. Then we will know how far we can go. --by Jan |
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Pursuing Excellence - by Bill
Last weekend was a weekend of competition at our house. Our two houseguests were competing at the National Sporting Clays Championship. (Sporting clays is a shooting event, similar to trap or skeet shooting.) Sunday afternoon, after our guests left, Jan and I went to see the movie, Secretariat, about the great racehorse of the same name.
Thinking back, I'm not sure competition is truly the common theme. To be sure, scores were kept (and discussed!) in the shooting championship. In the movie, races were won and lost. Still, what strikes me about both our guests and the characters in the movie was not their efforts to win, but their commitment to the pursuit of excellence.
In the book, Rising Above the Crowd, Brian Harbour notes that excellence does not mean being the best. "Excellence means being your best.... Excellence means being better tomorrow than you were yesterday." Excellence is not about "exceeding the achievements of other people. Excellence means matching your practice with your potential."
Randall Wallace, who directed Secretariat, sums up the message of his movie: "There are capabilities in each of us that are beyond what we think we can [do], and that life is about finding out how far you can go, how fast you can run. And how you never know until you try, until you run."
In an interview, Wallace recalls a conversation with his pastor. At the time, Wallace was studying for the ministry. The pastor asked Wallace if he really felt called to ministry. Wallace responded that he wasn't fully sure, but "I want my life to be about something more than the satisfaction of my own appetites," and that certainly being a minister was the highest calling anyone could have. "You're wrong," his pastor responded. "The highest calling you can have is the calling that is yours."
Scripture urges us to lead lives "worthy of the calling to which you have been called" (Eph 4:1). Whatever yours may be, pursue excellence.
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