Marion Jones and Mistakes

Earlier this afternoon, the Ogunbase family was at H.E.B., doing a little shopping. I picked up a box of gumbo mix, but then decided it wasn't needed. As I was walking to put it back, my lovely bride hissed at me to come back. As I walked back toward her, Marion Jones turned the corner in front of me.

When the Summer Olympics are on, I only watch a few things. Judo? No. Archery? No. But swimming and the track & field events? Absolutely. I'm glued to the screen, and will DVR them, even if I already know who won. I like swimming, but the sprint events in track and field are loves for me. I was watching when Michael Johnson ran the 200m in 19.32 in Atlanta. I watched this past summer as Usain Bolt ran a superhuman 9.69 100m (which he actually slowed down for). I also watched as Marion Jones destroyed her competition in Sydney, in 2000.

But, Ms. Jones didn't win with just what God gave her. She added to it, with performance-enhancing drugs. She was found out, and actually served six months of jail time for lying to a federal grand jury. In addition to that, her entire body of work from September 2000 on has been removed from the books. It's as if she never ran. She had to give up her medals. The other women who ran relays with her had to surrender their medals.

I got to thinking about that. She spent her entire life training for the Olympics. Everything she'd done from what should have been the pinnacle of her career is erased. Could she have beaten those other women with what God gave her? I think so. I mean, plenty of people take performance enhancing drugs, but plenty of people DON'T run 10.65 100m.

Ms. Jones was very kind and gracious, despite my interrupting her Sunday shopping with her children. When I asked who she was, there was brief flash of shame/worry. I wonder if she thought I was going to berate her for her mistakes. But she asked me for my name, looked me in the eye and shook my hand. But I regret this meeting. I regret that I didn't convey to her that even though she fell through her own choices, I still loved how I felt watching her compete. I especially regret that I didn't convey to her that Jesus loves her. I wish I had expressed that to her. Because I think that's something that she may know, but needed to hear.

I want to go deeper into this, but I have a 4-5 page research paper due in less than 6 hours, and I don't even have an outline.