I’ve been watching my humans watch the Winter Olympics
Now, I don’t understand everything about ice skating or ski jumping or curling (especially curling).
But I do understand this:
Nobody just wanders into the Olympics.
Nobody wakes up one morning, stretches, yawns, and says, “I think I’ll go win a gold medal today.”
There’s training.
There’s falling.
There’s getting back up.
There’s ice packs and treatments.
There’s discipline when nobody’s clapping.
And as I lay there on the rug watching those athletes lean into the wind on skis and spin through the air on skates, I couldn’t help but wag at the similarity.
Following Jesus is a lot like that.
I’ve learned a lot about faith from watching my humans as they follow Him:
• They get up every morning hopeful, tail wagging — even after yesterday was hard.
• They keep their eyes on the goal — even when the path gets slippery.
• They trust the hand that guides them, even when they don’t know where they’re going.
The Apostle Paul said it this way in Hebrews 12:1–2:
“Let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus…”
Run with endurance.
Not sprint with excitement.
Not jog when convenient.
Not quit when it gets cold.
Endure.
Those Olympians train for years for a moment that lasts seconds.
They deny themselves.
They get up early.
They push past soreness.
They practice when nobody’s watching.
Believers do, too.
They pray when nobody sees.
They forgive when it’s hard.
They choose integrity when compromise would be easier.
They keep showing up.
Olympians fall. A lot.
Skaters wobble.
Skiers crash.
Snowboarders miss landings.
But they get back up.
That’s the faith journey, too.
Sometimes the landing is missed.
Sometimes we catch an edge we didn’t see coming.
Sometimes life feels like it’s all downhill and a little icy.
But the difference-maker?
Where the eyes are fixed.
Those athletes fix their eyes on the finish line.
Believers fix their eyes on Jesus.
And here’s something else I noticed.
When one of those Olympians wins, they step onto the podium.
They receive a medal they trained their whole life to earn.
But in the faith journey, the prize isn’t earned by a Believer’s perfection.
It’s secured by His.
Believers don’t run for acceptance.
They run from acceptance.
Jesus already won the victory.
Believers just run faithfully in response.
Now, I’m just a dog.
I chase squirrels I never catch.
I run hard for a ball that gets thrown again and again and yet again.
But even I know this—discipline today shapes tomorrow’s strength.
So if your journey feels long…
If the training feels tough…
If the ice feels slippery under your paws…
Keep running.
Keep training.
Keep fixing your eyes where they belong.
Because there is a finish line.
There is a prize.
And there is a Savior who ran His race all the way to the cross…
Even I know the cross is greater than gold.
Keep the Faith… Carpe Diem
