CAPTURED

I had heard the story of the British track star who fell on the track and his dad came down from the stands to help him cross the finish line. But until a few weeks ago, I had never seen the video.

A picture really does speak a thousand words.

There hasn't been a day since I saw the video that it hasn't played in my mind.

I know what it's like to fall. And, I know what it's like to be picked up and carried.

I have been asked several times, why did I turn to God when Ethan first got hurt? After having spent my whole life running away from God, why did I run to Him the day we got the call?

My answer has always been, "There was nowhere else to go."

But the reason I've stayed with Him since then is because what you see the dad doing for his son in the video, on the tracks in Barcelona in 1992, God has done for me over and over again.

There is a phrase that is heard in many contemporary Christian songs, Captured by Grace.

When God picked me up on the way to Gainesville that night, when I didn't know if Ethan was going to live or die, He captured me by His Grace.

I've continued to fall. Injuries and the hurts continue. They come in many different ways.

But He has always been there to pick me up and carry me through whatever has come my way.

His Grace captures me over and over again.

My favorite part of the video is when the dad pushes people away so he can get to his son.

I hear the words spoken on the video.

But I also hear words of a voice I have come to know well.

"Get out of my way. She's mine. I bought her with a price and she belongs to me. I've promised to never leave her. Now, get out of my way!"

I hope this picture of a father's love brings you encouragement and hope this weekend. I know some of you are going through things that you wonder if they'll ever end. I know your way seems dark and uncertain. You are injured and hurt. You don't know if you can keep going.

But you can.

Just like I can.

Because we don't have to do it alone.

We have a Father that is running to meet us. To pick us up. To help us cross the finish line.

God Bless each of you this weekend.

I hope it will be a time of peace and rest.

And a time of being captured once again.







"I will never leave you nor forsake you."
Hebrews 13:5b

"Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name; You are Mine." Isaiah 43:1b

"For you were bought with a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God's."
1Corinthians 6:20

"The Lord your God, who goes before you, He will fight for you, according to all He did for you in Egypt before your eyes, and in the wilderness where you saw how the Lord your God carried you, as a man carries his son . . . "
Deuteronomy 1:30-31a