It was her signature event: the giant slalom. Mikaela Shiffrin was a favorite to medal in this event as well as in as many as four other Olympic events in Beijing. But after missing a gate early in her first run and then disqualified in her second run, Mikaela sat herself down in the snow and sat and sat and sat.
We’ve all been there. Heartbroken. Dejected. Confused. Unbelieving.
What just happened?! Couldn’t we just start this day – this morning – all over again?!
Some say that NBC spent too much time sharing this picture of Mikaela. Their coverage was over ten minutes long. Other racers were taking their turns down the slope, but NBC kept a split screen focusing on Mikaela. During that time, Olympians Simone Biles and Lyndsey Vonn tweeted their support. But Mikaela wasn’t looking at her phone. She didn’t seem to be looking at anything. She was simply sitting in shock.
We’ve all been there.
Here’s what I hope Mikaela will remember from this moment… While she was sitting in shock, a teammate came to her side, sat down in the snow next to her, and put her arm around her.
Putting on sackloth and sitting in ashes is a sign of grief and loss in the Bible. When it happened to Job, his friends came and sat next to him.
I’m glad Mikaela had someone to sit with this week. When the time comes, I hope you do too.
In Christ,
Pastor Jen