Blade Runner

I predict that the Olympics, starting next week, will have tons of back-stories that will inspire us. There always are.

Oscar

I'm guessing that Oscar's story will be one of them. Oscar is veteran of the Iraqi war. He is South African. He is the first amputee to compete in the "able-bodied" Olympics. He is a runner!

Oscar lost his legs because he was born without both fibulas. As a result at eleven months of age, both legs were amputated at mid-calf. He learned to run on a pair of prosthetic, carbon-fiber limbs, or blades, known as the "Cheetah Flex-Foot". These earned him the nickname of "bladerunner". He has competed in the Paralympic Games, but is the first to make his way into the Olympics. He had to battle for his place on track. It was feared (and previously ruled), that such blades eliminated a participant from competition because the "spring effect" gave the runner unfair advantage. As Oscar jokes, he had to fight to get "equal footing". His goal now is to become the first amputee Olympian. (Read more of his story here: Oscar)

I read stories like that and I think, "wow". That is amazing.

I read stories like that and I think, "What's my excuse?" I know few will ever be Olympians, but gosh, how far short do I sell myself in making excuses? This guy has done what seems impossible!

As the news writer put it, "But now here he stands, a man without legs soon to be flying around the track with a handful of the best quarter-milers on the planet. Think of the doors it will open, the imaginations that shall stir. Picture what might come if a double-leg amputee wins a medal, climbs the podium and defies all that we think we know about the human body and its supposed limitations."

What limitations are your excuses? What limitations are just waiting to become your opportunities?

Would you pray that God would enable you to look at your limitations with fresh vision? Would you pray that God would enable you with the tools to take your limitations and turn your life into a bladerunner story?