I love the Winter Olympics. Every four years, I can't wait to watch them. I actually enjoy the Winter Games way more than the Summer Games when they come around. I don't know why that is- I don't participate in any winter sports myself. I don't ice skate, never played hockey, I'm a lousy skier, and a nominal snowboarder at best. But there is something about the winter Olympics every four years that just capture my attention & imagination. They are almost magical, mythic, to me. The snow-covered, mountainous locations, the exotic places like Lillehammer, Nagano, Torino, and Vancouver, the other-worldly beauty of each country's opening & closing ceremonies...they all just enchant me.

And of course, there are the heroes of each Games. I remember the Austrian, Franz Klammer, rocketing down the mountain in the 1976 Olympics. I became a fan of downhill skiing watching him. And the unlikely champions of the 1980 Games, the US hockey team, and their staggering win over the undefeated Soviets. What a moment. I remember watching Olaf "The Boss" Koss defeat the "Flying Dutchmen" to win gold in speedskating at Lillehammer, I think. I've never been a fan of men's figure skating, but watching Scott Hamilton do backflips on the ice, and win several golds in 1984, was amazing. And of course, the first time I ever saw this little American guy with long hair and a bandanna, Apolo Ohno, win gold in Torino, I became a fan of short track speed skating. I could go on- so many heroes, so many many memories.

These Olympics have not disappointed either! Bode Miller medaling 3x, Lindsey Vonn & Julia Mancuso medaling several times each, all three in downhill, etc., has been spell-binding. Every time Apolo races, I'm on the edge of my seat, cheering him on now with 8 medals! And in the ski jump, witnessing Simon Amman jump 145 meters, he looked like he was going to land in the parking lot! Amazing. Then Steve Holcomb and his team win the first USA gold in bobsled in 62 years. But nothing can top watching Shaun White win the gold with super-human stunts and height in the snowboard half pipe, then with the gold already his, doing one last run that included a trick no one had ever attempted before, much less landed, was nothing short of fantastic. Even watching the couples' ice dancing (again, not one of my faves), and to see the young Canadians win all-around gold- their pure joy, the crowd's hysteria, was a proud moment not only for Canada, but we were cheering them, as well. Although I had hoped for a USA win in men's hockey, esp. on the 30-year anniversary of the "Miracle on Ice", I'm proud for Canada to have won on home ice, in the sport they invented. Even the closing ceremonies were moving and thrilling. Greatest Olympics I've ever watched.

Ah, I love the Winter Olympics. There's something about them that touch me deeply- the thrills, the chills, the splendor, the unity, the beauty. Maybe they remind me of an adventure we were created for, a unity and beauty that awaits us, and a triumph & celebration we will share one day ourselves, with our Creator, Savior, and Lover, our Lord.

"No eye has seen, no ear has heard, nor has it even entered the mind of man, what God has prepared for those who love Him..." 1 Corinthians 2:9