“Do not fear, for I am with you, do not be afraid, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my victorious right hand.” – Isaiah 41:10
There is no doubt in my mind that God calls us to wonderful things in our lives. After all, life is a special gift. It is a gift, given by a great God, who has great purpose for each of us. Unfortunately, there are times in our lives when we seem to fall short of that great purpose. We make mistakes or unforeseen problems come our way and knock our feet out from under us.
Heather Kampf is a powerful example of how not to let those unfortunate times overwhelm you. Heather was a member of the Golden Gophers track team for the University of Minnesota. Heather was an accomplished runner with several wins to her credit. During the 2008 Big Ten indoor championship Heather was running in the 600-meter run. She was just starting her last lap when she fell. It was a devastating fall that took her from first place to dead last. With only two hundred meters to go, it seemed like all hope was lost.
The fall was a devastating fall for Heather, but the race was not over. After falling flat on her face, Heather quickly jumped to her feet and started chasing the pack. Everyone watching the race that day were amazed with what they witnessed next. In Heather’s own words she, “Found a gear she never knew she had.” In no time at all she began to catch the runners who had passed her and with just a few steps left to the finish line she retook first place.
Heather Kampf sprinted her way to an amazing comeback and a first-place finish. It would have never happened had she not gotten back up and started running.
It reminds me of those great words by the famous coach, Vince Lombardi, “It’s not whether you get knocked down, it’s weather you get up.” God calls each of us to a life of great purpose and accomplishment. We often get knocked off our course, we trip and fall down. That is going to happen. It is just part of life. The trick to achieving great things is realizing we need to get back up.
As God’s people, we know that when we get back up, we will find the strength, through God’s grace, to move forward. Like Heather Kampf, we will find that we are not defined by our falls, but the gifts, the talents, the possibilities we did not even know we possessed before we fell down.
Rev. Keith King, Online Campus Pastor
