By Sally Walton of Silver Spring, Maryland, USA

Therefore the Lord waits to be gracious to you; therefore, he will rise up to show mercy to you. For the Lord is a God of justice; blessed are all those who wait for him.

I think about all the lessons I have learned from the people often considered the weakest of our society. I was a special-education teacher for years, and I worked with students who daily dealt with assorted challenges.

I learned one outstanding lesson at the Special Olympics, an athletic competition for mentally and physically challenged people. I was standing near the course for the 25-yard walk. This is an event for athletes who have severe motor challenges.

Five athletes of assorted sizes and ages lined up. When the signal was given, they started walking, hobbling, and sliding toward the finish line. Many used canes and walkers.

The person who caught everyone’s attention was a middle-aged gentleman who took a couple of steps and fell. With encouragement from his “coach-buddy,” he got up, brushed himself off, and started again. He fell again after a few more steps. Again, he got up, brushed himself off, and continued the race—or a few more steps.

He repeated this routine until he crossed the finish line and fell into the arms of his coach. He was far behind the other competitors. But he finished!

Everyone was so mesmerized by this gentleman that no one noticed who crossed the finish line first. In true Special Olympic spirit, all the finishers were declared winners and given medals.

This man’s actions reminded me in a visible way of God’s response to us. We run, we stumble, and we fall. God is always there, encouraging us to get back up and brush ourselves off. God then lets us start running again—usually only to stumble and fall. However, when we get to the finish line, God is there with open arms ready to declare us winners.

Prayer Phrase

“Bear one another’s burdens…” (Galatians 6:2).

Spiritual Hunger

Jesus discerned hungers of body and spirit, and he fed them through a physical, verbal, spiritual ministry of presence. In a time of listening prayer, ask God to help you discern physical or spiritual hungers of people in your congregation, community, and global family. Invite the Spirit to move you to one hospitable act that “feeds” someone’s hunger today.

Today’s Prayer for Peace

Engage in a daily practice of praying for peace in our world. Click here to read today’s prayer and be part of this practice of peace.