"The Way I See It"

Most of you are familiar with Starbucks, I'm sure. Honestly, I'm not a huge fan of Starbucks, but that's not what this note is about.

I went to Starbucks last night with my good friend Evan (aka the midget.) Usually, about once a month we go somewhere with a goup of other guys and just hang out. Last night, it was just Evan and me. We were talking about the usual: girls, work, school, etc. Then we started talking about Christianity and religion.
It was at this point I looked down at my cup of nowhere near decent coffee that I just payed almost 5 dollars for, and saw one of those "The Way I See It" qoutes. I'm not usually a fan of those qoutes, but this one I read last night was very interesting, and it went right along with the conversation. It read:


"If I have given my all and still do not win, I haven’t lost. Others might remember winning or losing; I remember the journey."
-- Apolo Anton Ohno
Five-time Olympic medalist.

If you are a fan of the Winter Olympics, then you most likely know who this Apolo guy is. He is one of the best short track speed skaters in the world, and one of America's most favorite athletes.

But, even though I knew who he was, it was the quote that caught my eye.

"If I have given my all and still do not win, I haven’t lost. Others might remember winning or losing; I remember the journey."

The Journey. Wow, I don't know where Apolo stands religously, and this quote is definetly about his career, but what if it had been about the life of a Christian?

In our world today, its' about winning. If you lose, to bad; either win next time or give up. But in the middle of all that, we hear one of the world's most skilled athletes going against the tide.

"If I have given my all and still do not win, I haven’t lost. Others might remember winning or losing; I remember the journey."

The Journey...that word is so powerful to the Christian mind. You see, one of the major things that sets true Christians apart from the rest of the world is the fact that its' not all about winning. Very few people seem to understand that winning isn't everything. Yet, with the whole world screaming "Win, win, win!" there is an athlete, who gets paid to win, saying that it is not all about winning. It's about the Journey. Apolo remebers how he got to where he is today, and that is where he finds his joy. He doesn't find it in winning all the time, but sometimes he finds it in losing; because, you see, Apolo gets it: It's not about being right all the time or always winning. The Christian sees that too. A Christian can look back on his/her life and say "Wow, I have changed so much because of Christ. I have won and I have lost, I have conquered and I have failed, but my oh my, what a journey."

Personally, I applaud Apolo for understanding one of the real meanings of life, especially in the industry he is in where winning is everything. Shoot, I'll even applaud Starbucks for putting such a great quote among their many crappy ones on the side of an eco-friendly cup.

"The Way I See It."
I think the real meaning of Starbuck's little qoutes are about the meaning of life. Unfortunately, many of their quotes give a bad or wrong meaning to life.
"The Way I See It."
Maybe Starbucks should change it to: "The Way Apolo Sees It."
Because, out of all of those qoutes, one man has finally hit one of the main things about what life really is, especially life to a Christian.

In Christ,
Hackett