Reaching for Greatness
When we were living in Bolivia a few years back, there was a bit of a hot topic in the papers concerning one of Bolivia's top Olympic athletes. Geovana Irusta, a racewalker, was frustrated by the way she thought her country treated her in her quest for a medal. Bolivia has yet to win a gold, silver or bronze in an Olympic competition. This woman believed that she would have a better chance with some more support. She saw other athletes, like the US Olympians, coached, with training centers built for them and running outfits designed to minimize wind drag. She wanted to be her best, but felt held back by the limitations of trying to achieve greatness on her own. Eventually, she went to train in the neighboring country of Argentina. I was thinking about Geovana the other day. You see, in this post-Christian society that we live in, a lot of my friends and acquaintances no longer participate in church. ("Wait--what does that have to do with the Olympics?" S...