Connections Archive

Dr Bruce Manners
Senior minister, Avondale College Seventh-day Adventist Church

I discovered another divide between men and women during the Olympics. It goes something like this: women--gymnastics, men--team sports; women--throwing ribbons in the air and catching them while doing aerobics (an event that probably has a name), men--athletics; women--synchronised swimming, men--anything else including gymnastics and the ribbon thing.

I come to this conclusion from observation at home and extensive research (I asked three mates). And I mention this to explain why I was watching gymnastics a few nights ago. She who loves me had the remote.

Several men were trying to win gold on the vault. I pondered the value of spending four years of your life preparing for an event where, in 10 seconds or less, you run as fast as you can to jump and twist and spin and try to land on your feet. To be fair, they did it twice, so make that 20 seconds.

One competitor had decided he was going to concentrate only on this event and, apparently, he had a good chance of winning a medal. Unfortunately, he made a mistake. He seemed inconsolable when he returned to his chair.

Later in the week, we watched girls on the beam and a Chinese girl was introduced who was expected to win gold. During one manoeuvre, she fell. She quickly got back up, but gold was gone.

She put on her smile and brave face at the end, but you could see the disappointment. Then came the golden moment. A hug from the coach.

I didn't see her say anything to the girl, but she hugged her. She was probably as disappointed as the girl, but there was something more important than a medal happening here--reassurance.

And I was reminded of the story of the Prodigal son. The son's lost his father's inheritance. He's stuffed up his life. He's not sure of his father's reception. He only knows things are better at home.

The father welcomes him--with a hug. He has no words for the son, just a hug. The hug is enough.