One evening in the summer of 1968, a few thousand spectators remained in the Mexico City Olympic stadium. It was almost dark. The last of the marathon runners were stumbling across the finish line. Finally the spectators heard the wail of sirens on police cars. As eyes turned to the gate, a lone runner wearing the colours of Tanzania staggered into the stadium. His name was John Stephen Akhwari. He was the last contestant to finish the 26-mile, 358 yard contest. His leg had been injured in a fall and was bloody and crudely bandaged. He hobbled the final lap around the track. The spectators ROSE and APPLAUDED him as though he were the winner. After he crossed the finish line, someone asked him why he had not quit. "My country did not send me 7,000miles to start the race. They sent me 7,000 miles to finish it." He replied. A lot of us start things we do not finish. We stop at various stages of the project, race or endeavour. It could be anything from insufficient funds, to running out of money being abandoned by the people we started with, being rejected by prospects or someone we went to sell the idea to, being told off by a judge or colleagues. It may be that we are discouraged by someone who does not share our vision or we simply lose interest. If we could only see our lives and all that we undertake in it as the Tanzanian, Akhwari, saw the race. At times it's not about winning gold, it's about finishing BECAUSE God did not put us on the earth to just start the race of life and commence all the projects and ideas He gives us, He put us here and gave them us to FINISH THEM. We can only hope and pray that in all we do hereafter we would be like the Tanzanian, Akhwari, and finish our races, even if we do not know whether the stadium would be full when we arrive. This is to your success. Adebola Oni |
