Ecclesiastes 3 A Time for Everything
1 There is a time for everything,
and a season for every activity under heaven:
2 a time to be born and a time to die,
a time to plant and a time to uproot,
3 a time to kill and a time to heal,
a time to tear down and a time to build,
4 a time to weep and a time to laugh,
a time to mourn and a time to dance,
5 a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
a time to embrace and a time to refrain,
6 a time to search and a time to give up,
a time to keep and a time to throw away,
7 a time to tear and a time to mend,
a time to be silent and a time to speak,
8 a time to love and a time to hate,
a time for war and a time for peace.
In the 1965, as the United States was about to enter a time of political unrest, the Byrds used this scripture as the basis for their number one billboard hit, "Turn! Turn! Turn! (to everything there is a season). In 2002, we placed Ecclesiastes 3:1 as the verse under a photo of my dad happily enjoying a ride on Italian wooden speed boat, his hair tussled by the Venetian wind, on the front of his memorial card.
Today, as I sit back and reflect on the past two years, as I try and understand what is happening around me, it is this verse that sticks out above all others. It hasn't been more than a few days since I received an email with the words "Dear Joy, Please see the attached letter in reference to the RA Program." Attached was the following letter:
Dear Joy,
This letter is sent to inform you of the direction and status of the 2008 archery Resident Athlete Program for the United States Olympic Training Center in Chula Vista, California.
The program is taking a new and dynamic approach to athlete training in preparation for the development of elite archers for the 2012 and 2016 Olympic Games. At this time, the upcoming program plan is well focused on the continuing development of a strong Women's team. In complying with this new direction, the resident athlete program will retain our two top women resident athletes. Additionally, the program will bring in elite junior athletes to fill the remaining program spots. We are fortunate to have such talented Olympians to lead this new team and even more fortunate that one of those individuals is an Olympic medalist. These two women will provide the leadership and set the necessary example for the new recruits to follow. Furthermore, our resident Olympians will act as mentors for these young athletes, providing the guidance, experience and additional motivation to help them grow into future Olympians. What is currently unknown territory to these budding athletes will quickly become a much easier transition with the help of two seasoned Olympic archers.
While moving forward in our new direction, we do wish to take this moment to commend you on the effort and progress you have made in the RA program under the teachings and guidance of Mr. Kisik Lee, considered by many to be the World's top archery coach. We feel you have learned a great deal through your experience in the RA program and can now forge ahead with the skills you have learned from Coach Lee. Coach Lee has left you with the ultimate tools to continue your elite training in a setting of your own choosing. Although you have progressed and continue to show steady improvement while in the RA program, your skill sets and scores are not yet to the level required to be internationally competitive. We feel strongly that if you continue to train diligently, compete on a regular basis and steadily refine your shooting technique; you will eventually develop the ability to post scores that will earn you a slot on future international teams. We also want to inform you that the High Performance team will always have an open door for you or any high level athlete to reapply to the Resident Athlete Program during those future dates when applications are being accepted.
Presently, the High Performance Team is attempting to work within the parameters and restrictions of limited bed space at the OTC. However, we fully understand the constraints that are placed on the Olympic Training Center and greatly appreciate what they are currently able to offer. As US athletes gear up to compete in the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, China, the pressure on the training center to meet those needs maximizes the capacity of the facility to adequately house those many athletes from a variety of sports. This fact sparked the inspiration to look further toward our future. We must develop our new Olympians now so that we may again dominate the world in Olympic Archery. One of the compelling reasons that have driven the decision to change directions in the RA program is the simple fact that since 1988, the US Women's Team has not won a single medal. The pendulum must again swing in our direction and therefore, the High Performance Team has chosen to follow a new plan and one that is considered to be a highly promising road to success. Success is vital to the growth of archery in the US and to obtain the much-needed funding opportunities provided by the USOC for medal winning sports.
We wish to thank you for your participation in the Resident Athlete Program for the sport of archery and wish you great success in all of your future archery endeavors.
Sincerely,
USA Archery High Performance Team:
Tom Parrish
Kisik Lee
Don Rabska
So where does that leave me now? I've known for a long time that I am an Olympian at heart, becoming one is in the very core of me. Although I have no status as a resident athlete, a resident athlete is not what defines me. No, I am defined by, and my identity is found in, Jesus Christ who has plans to "prosper me and not harm me, plans to give me a hope and a future." Jeremiah 29:11
I rather like the verses that follow Ecclesiastes 3:1-8:
9 What does the worker gain from his toil? 10 I have seen the burden God has laid on men. 11 He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end. 12 I know that there is nothing better for men than to be happy and do good while they live. 13 That everyone may eat and drink, and find satisfaction in all his toil—this is the gift of God. 14 I know that everything God does will endure forever; nothing can be added to it and nothing taken from it. God does it so that men will revere him.
God has put me in a situation where the only possible way to make it now is going to be through Him and in the end that may have been his very plan.
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