JUGHEADS
Youth Juggling Company, LLC
5905 Concord Avenue
Edina, MN 55424
jugheads@comcast.net
612.229.3348

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April/May 2009

“The Virtue of Finishing Strong”

One of my heroes of legendary athletics is 1964 Olympic Gold Medalist in the 10,000 meters, Billy Mills. Mills, a Lakota (Sioux) Native American, grew up on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota. After suffering racism from both the “white world” and the “Indian world” while at Kansas University, Mills trained for the Olympics while serving with the U.S. Marines. Upon making the U.S. team, he was by no means favored to medal, let alone win and defeat world record holder Ron Clarke. Mills put in a you’d-have-to-see-it-to-believe-it finishing kick to win the gold and set a new Olympic record!

I believe this principle is universal: it’s not how one starts out, but how one finishes that counts. The Bible uses the synonyms“endurance” and “perseverance”; the latter means “through severity.” Every human life comes wrought with challenges, set-backs, and “stumbles.” Many are self-inflicted, but some are completely out of one’s control. As we “kick in” our final lap of JJ11 preparations, let’s minimize self-defeating challenges while preparing for unforeseen setbacks. In many ways, JJ11 is a metaphor for life itself, and I’m excited to see what unsung heroes may emerge this year, whether as a face in our crowd of all-cast routines or a surprising vignette that steals the show. Let’s all run in such a way as to win the gold!