Eric Liddell’s fiery chariots --HIRD

by Rev. Dr. Ed & Janice Hird

How often does a Chinese-born missionary to China become the subject of an academy award-winning movie? The people of China see Eric Liddell as their first Olympic gold medalist, even recently unveiling a statue of him. His daughter, Patricia Liddell, commented, “My father was multi-faceted, he didn’t just appeal to religious people. He was born in China, he worked in China, he died in China. He’s their Olympic hero.”

In the movie, Chariots of Fire, he is shown running for the glory of God in the 1924 Olympics. Known as the ‘Flying Scotsman’, he famously said: “God made me fast, and when I run, I feel His pleasure.” When asked how he ran so quickly, he often said that he ran as fast as he could for the first half of a race, and then asked God to help him run even faster for the second half. Liddell won so much gold and silver that his mother hid his trophies under her bed at night, in case of burglary.

Missionary families often make great sacrifices for the sake of the lost. Born in 1903 at Siao Chang on the Great Plain of Northern China, Liddell, and his older brother Robert, were sent in 1912 to the Eltham missionary boarding school in London. While at Eltham, Liddell earned the Blackheath Cup as the best athlete of his year, becoming the captain of both the cricket and rugby union teams. He did not see his mother again for seven years, and his dad for 13 years. Since he only knew Chinese culture, he experienced enormous culture shock in his parents’ homeland of Scotland.

While earning a chemistry degree at the University of Edinburgh, he was not only a track and field runner, but also became an award-winning rugby player for the Scottish national team. Being painfully shy, Liddell never could have imagined that he would become the most famous person in Scotland. Chemistry Professor Neil Campbell at Edinburgh commented, “No athlete has ever made a bigger impact on people all around the world, and the description of him as ‘the most famous, the most popular, and best-loved athlete Scotland has ever produced’ is no exaggeration.” Dunky Wright, Scotland’s greatest long-distance runner, said, “he was without doubt the most glorious runner I have ever seen …with such a high moral Christian character…”

Liddell had a unique running style that coaches tried to cure without success. The New York Times noted that he seemed to do everything wrong. The Daily Mail sketched him in a cartoon as if he were a rubber contortionist. Throwing his head back, he swayed and rocked like an overloaded express train. He was compared to a startled deer, a windmill with its sails off kilter, a terrified ghost, and someone whose joints had never been oiled. Jack Moakley, the wisest and oldest of the American Olympic running team, said, “That lad Liddell’s an awful runner, but he’s got something. I think he’s got what it takes.”

It hurt Liddell deeply when many called him a traitor for being unwilling to run on Sunday at the Olympics. His strong Christian convictions led him to refuse to work on Sundays, including winning gold medals. His stunning gold Olympic win in the 400 metres turned him from a national embarrassment to a celebrated hero. The closest parallel to his new fame was Beatlemania, complete with an actual Eric Liddell fan club.

For Liddell, the 1924 Olympics was just a brief diversion on his way to serve as a missionary in China. Before he boarded the boat to China, enormous crowds came to hear him speak in churches. More than 1,000 people had to be turned away sometimes because there was no more room.

Liddell served in China as a missionary chemistry teacher from 1925 to 1943, first in Tientsin (Tainjin) and later in Siaochan. In 1941, the fighting between the Chinese and invading Japanese forces became so dangerous that he was forced to send his Canadian wife Florence and their three children back to Canada. Kissing his wife goodbye, he whispered in her ear, ‘Those who love God never meet for the last time.’ The Japanese occupiers did not allow Liddell to hold church services with any more than ten people present. So he met nine people for afternoon tea, giving out copies of his sermon. These nine people then each met nine other people giving them copies of the sermon until everyone was reached. This became known as the Afternoon Tea Church.

Over 1,000 missionaries were imprisoned by the Japanese, many of whom died. In 1943, Liddell was sent to the Weixhan Internment Camp in modern-day Weifang, Shandong, with 1,800 other prisoners, including 100 other missionaries’ children. While interned in this 150 by 200 yard camp, he helped the elderly, taught Bible classes at the camp school, arranged games, and taught science to the children, who referred to him as Uncle Eric. David J. Michell, a child internee, remarked, “He had a smile for everyone.” Sports Writer A.A. Thomson said of Liddell, “During the worst period of his imprisonment, he was, through his courage and cheerfulness, a tower of strength and sanity to his fellow prisoners.”

Sometimes he ran races against the Japanese guards in order to allow food and medicine to be smuggled in for the starving inmates.

Liddell never saw his family again, dying at age 38 in the internment camp of a brain tumour, just months before the WW II liberation. His last words were, “It’s complete surrender.” Adopted by the Chinese as their very own, he is commemorated in a monument in Weifang, featuring these words from Isaiah: “They shall mount up with wings as eagles, they shall run and not be weary.” What might it take for us to feel God’s pleasure for the sake of the nations?

Rev. Dr. Ed and Janice Hird
co-author of For Better, For Worse Discovering the keys to a lasting relationship

Winning the Gold Medal as a Christian Writer

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith. Because of the joy awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now he is seated in the place of honor beside God’s throne. Think of all the hostility he endured from sinful people; then you won’t become weary and give up. (Hebrews 12: 1-3, NLT)

The Rio 2016 Olympics are on right now, distracting me from my dual August deadlines. Like most Canadians, I can ignore the Summer Games more easily than the Winter Games, so I'm limiting myself to the highlights. I can't help but think of some similarities writers — especially Christian writers — have with these athletes, though.

1. Passion breeds discipline. Face it, it takes a long time to become one of the fastest swimmers in the world. It also takes time to learn writing techniques and write a complete novel. It can be depressing to think about how far from perfect that first novel will be. Without passion for the sport of writing, we'd give up our training in a week or two, but hang in there. Anything worth achieving is worth working for.

2. Visualize. Whether visualizing a gold medal sliding over your head to the strains of "Oh, Canada!" or visualizing a paperback with your name on it, there is something powerful about invoking our imagination. While I'm not preaching a 'name it and claim it' doctrine, we are far more likely to achieve goals we can articulate and visualize than those that are some vague dream of success, whatever that entails.

3. Find a coach or mentor. As athletes spend many hours practicing in solitude, so do writers, but without a coach, it's difficult to know where you need work and what you can do to improve. For writers, this coaching might come from a variety of sources, like a critique group or an online writers' community. An athlete hires one coach, then follows that one person's advice in all areas. As writers, it's useful to choose one primary mentor who's successfully played the game before us rather than taking advice from dozens of wannabes.

4. Take care of yourself, body and soul. Just because we're not competing as gymnasts or cyclists doesn't mean we should be couch potatoes. We need to honor the body that God gave us, fueling it appropriately and taking it out for exercise. In the same way, we need to develop our spiritual muscles. How can we write Truth that will touch readers if we aren't in touch with God ourselves? We need to feed on His word and exercise our spiritual muscles

5. Remember who you're playing for. Athletes from around the world are wearing specially designed uniforms this week, making it obvious what country they represent. The flags of their homelands fly high, and the national anthems are ready to be played at a moment's notice. As writers who are believers, remember that the world is watching you, too. You wear the cloak of Christianity, and there are standards to uphold!

 6. Celebrate! While gold medals are the highest standard in the Olympics, you'll find many non-medaling athletes celebrating, too. Many are simply thrilled to perform for their country. Others are striving for their personal best. Others are overcoming hardship of some kind, and finishing the race at all is a huge achievement. Whatever the results for you as a writer, remember that you are blessed by God. Celebrate wherever you find yourself as you follow your calling to write for Him.

There are many other facets of the writing career that parallel professional sports, but these six stood out to me as I contemplated this blog post. What other lessons do you feel we can learn from Olympic athletes?

Valerie Comer's life on a small farm in western Canada provides the seed for stories of contemporary inspirational romance. Like many of her characters, Valerie and her family grow much of their own food and are active in the local food movement as well as their church. She only hopes her creations enjoy their happily ever afters as much as she does hers, shared with her husband, adult kids, and adorable granddaughters.

Valerie is a USA Today bestselling author and a two-time Word Award winner. She has been called “a stellar storyteller” as she injects experience laced with humor into her green clean romances. Visit her at ValerieComer.com.

Olympic Attitude Quandry Ruth Smith Meyer

Olympic Attitude Quandary

The Olympics of the past two weeks remind me of the proverbial elephant . That beast nosed into our living rooms and our lives with the Olympic Torch’s journey across our fair land. With the opening ceremony, the elephant took over the room and many hours of our lives.

We began to stay up late in the evenings to cheer on our athletes, rejoicing when Canada made the podium. Our routine started to centre around the live broadcasts of Olympic events. Especially at first, with typical Canadian grace, we cheered for those who made gold, silver or bronze no matter what nationality, and congratulated all those who gave it their best. We were awed by the tremendous dedication of those young people. We applauded with extra exuberance if Canada did well and our pride in our country grew. Having some people from our own community added to the sense of involvement, so when Drew Doughty was on with the Canadian Hockey team or Scott and Tessa were skating I was all gung- ho, cheering and straining for the prize for them.

Gradually I felt a sense of disquiet. I wondered what was happening to me. As the weeks wore on, more and more, I found myself wanting gold for our country—or silver at least. By this last Saturday the elephant was taking up most of the space in our lives and I began to feel discomfort even while I cheered on with each new gold or silver for Canada. A real tug-of-war raged within me that I still can’t completely understand.

Part of me glories in the accomplishment of Canadian athletes. I am truly proud of the quality and the effort expended, but there is also a part of me that decries putting so much importance on a few winners. Haven’t all the athletes given their best? Were not many “losers” very close to the time of the “winners”? When I saw the disappointment on some faces even though they had done a good job and won silver losing out on the gold by mere hundredth or thousandth of a seconds, I felt distressed that those athletes couldn’t feel good about their accomplishment. When I saw gold winners come to congratulate their competitor just to have the silver medalists turn their backs and walk the other direction I grieved the lack of sportsmanship and questioned the effectiveness of what the Olympics were meant to accomplish.

Then there is another side of the conflict within me. Although I believe in exercising our bodies and perhaps pushing them to greater limits than we thought possible, I feel some hesitation when I see the skiers on a dangerous course that probably should have been shut down, careening down the hill and ending up being taken away on stretchers. Others coming down the mogul hill in spite of knee damage not fully healed or skating with injuries, continuing in spite of broken ribs and more made me wonder how those people are going to feel, in thirty, forty or fifty years, about how they used their God-given bodies.

So I am in a quandary. The Olympics have come to an celebratory end and the elephant will retreat from the living room, but will its spirit and the moral predicament linger in my mind?

Eventful Memories - Atchison

Events occur throughout our lifetime helping us realize how far we have come in life. As I look to the start of the 2010 Vancouver, British Columbia Winter Olympics this February, I am brought back in time to the 1988 Winter Olympics that were held in Calgary, Alberta, Canada.

I was five months pregnant at the time, expecting my first child. A nervous mother-to-be, a career oriented woman, and a loving wife to my husband of five years. I remember stepping down the huge steps at Canada Olympic Park, ready to watch the ski jumping. I was tired, a little grumpy and very uncomfortable. It was a hectic drive to the shuttle area, an hour’s drive across the busy city streets, and then an hour or two wait while sitting on rustic earthen benches to see if the ski jumping would actually occur because of the extreme winds due to a Chinook that had blown in.

It turns out the event was cancelled, out of the stands we climbed, and it was back onto the bus across town. I am sure as I took that ride and cradled my abdomen with my hands I thought of the baby’s future, of our future as a family. Would I be a good Mom? Would our finances be enough to sustain us with a new baby? I prayed that night for the good health of my baby and for our future.

Twenty-two years later, I still pray every night for the safety of our daughter, our only child. She came with some difficulty in early June of 1988, three weeks ahead of my due date. Healthy and happy, our baby girl has grown into a full grown woman, and will be graduating this spring with a Bachelor of Nursing degree. I watch as she creates her own life now as an adult. Her dreams and goals are strong. It is a blessing that she has chosen a career where she can be a health professional helping those in need. Her heart is kind and gentle.

I have always considered my daughter one of God’s children. I know with God’s help and prayer, we have been able to bring a healthy baby into the world, and watch her grow. We have always said that we would be there for her, and we still are. I knew we would not have any financial trouble in raising her and we haven’t.

It is with warm heartfelt happiness that I greet the 2010 Winter Olympics. The memories the event is triggering remind me of the past and our delightful yet scary times over the years. As I lie down to sleep tonight, I shall once again pray for my daughter and the good parts of our lives and hope that the next twenty years will be as good as the last ones. Who knows, maybe the 2030 Winter Olympics will return to Calgary and maybe I can take my grandchildren to see the ski jumping, and just maybe they will have brand new seating and stairs.

Patricia L. Atchison

Website: www.patrica@patriciaatchison.ca

Writing & Plublishing Blog: www.aboutwritingandpublishing.com

Olympics - Boge

I think anybody who has the courage to dive off of the 10 meter board deserves a medal. More so this year than in previous years, I am so impressed with divers who take the time and the courage to excel at their sport. I can’t believe that people can actually do that consistently. It’s mind bending. Especially the handstand! I mean, that is really amazing to watch.

And then there are the marathoners. The men will go on the last day of the games, but the women have already completed. And their time per mile is simply incredible. Watching the athletes in these and other sports has been nothing shy of inspiring.

The athletes come from all over the world, yet when they are interviewed they seem to have one thing in common: for years, they were focused on training for their sport.

Someone once said that success is in direct proportion to what you had to give up to achieve it. These athletes could probably relate.

Can we?

I think there’s a parallel there with the Christian life. I was reading recently the parable of the talents. One got five. One got two, and the other one. The first two developed what they had. The last one wasted his talent by hiding it. We may or may not be given sports talents, but we’ve been given at least one talent to develop. That could be writing, or parenting, or business.

By watching these Olympic Games and by reading that story of the talents I’m encouraged to take pause and evaluate which talents God has given me and to take the time to develop them and focus on those, even if it means that other things have to fall by the way side. I’m encouraged to continue to strive for excellence in the areas God has given me to pursue. I’m curious to see where it will all lead.

But one thing’s for sure, I’ll leave the diving to others.