Get Your  Hope Cup 

But the eyes of the LORD are on those who fear him, on those whose hope is in his unfailing love,

Psalm 33:18

This week for our devotion we will Meet seven of America’s most inspiring athletes, winners all. I pray they will lift you...

I got pretty close once to the Olympics, but my father got even closer. I’ll explain.

In 1960 Dad and his sailing partner won the North American Championship in their yachting class but finished a disappointing second in the Olympic trials—not good enough to get them to Rome that year. But Dad never seemed disheartened, let alone defeated.

Hope is what kept him competing. In fact, on a shelf at home sat an old tarnished trophy. He “won” it as a boy after his first summer of competitive sailing in southern California. Race after race he came in dead last.

Sometimes he was so slow that the committee boat had already gone home when he crossed the finish line. But he finished every race and when all the other trophies were presented that year he got this one, “The Hope Cup.” Dad was a winner after all.

He never did make it to the Olympics, but in 1984, when the Summer Games were in Los Angeles, he was in charge of the yachting venue.

That same year I had just been hired at Guideposts in New York. Going home for the Games was out of the question. In fact, Carol and I, newlyweds in a tiny Manhattan apartment, had to rent a TV to watch the events.

Dad had another suggestion. “Maybe you could carry the flame on its way to L.A.,” he said. So he made some phone calls and that’s just what I did.

Here’s a snapshot of me in my fleeting Olympic glory, carrying the torch for a mile on a rain-spattered highway in Connecticut, one of many runners passing along the flame all the way across the country that memorable year.

This summer world-class athletes from more than 200 countries will gather in London for the 2012 Games. There will be more “near winners” (like my dad) than medalists. It is the nature of competition.

But win or lose, many Olympians have triumphant stories about what got them there—persistence, prayer, determination, faith, guidance and hope. 

father, renew my hope and my strength in you today. I claim the spirit of a winner and not a loser in Jesus name. Amen

“Have Faith, Hope and Charity,
That’s the way to live successfully.
How do I know? The Bible tells me so”

Ray Patrick

Ray of Hope 4U

Tel: +447429721970

Email:rayofhope4u@hotmail.com

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