Phew. I’m coming up to breathe after submersion in training modules and orientation for a new job. I’ll be working part-time as a hospice chaplain\u2014more reflections to come on this experience no doubt. I miss you and hope to be back a bit more regularly soon at this intersection between God and life.<\/p>\n
In the meantime, this short inspirational story originally published in The San Francisco Times<\/em><\/a> about two brothers who have bonded over racing triathlons and are Sports Illustrated<\/em> “Sports Kids of the Year” is worth a view. It comes in the context of my own efforts to teach my son\u2014after a hard-fought championship game on the basketball court lost in the final seconds of overtime\u2014about what it means to lose gracefully. In the wake of a second place finish in a speech contest, Malala<\/a> in her book recounts the words of Abe Lincoln to his son’s teacher: “Teach him to lose gracefully,” Lincoln instructed. In the case of this nine-year-old boy and his younger brother with cerebral palsy, winning and losing come measured in different terms…a bit like the kingdom of God I guess.<\/p>\n