You can’t compete against me, I want you to win too

Every two years my family gathers around the TV spellbound as we watch the very best athletes from all over the world come together and perform at an awe-inspiring level. I love the Olympics, but the Winter Games hold a special place in my heart. Maybe it’s because I live in a wintery home myself, or maybe it’s because these niche sports only come into the spotlight once every four years. Whatever the reason, I love the Winter Olympics.

Something caught my attention during this year’s Games that impressed me more than the tricks or strength or raw talent of the Olympians. Even though they are in competition with one another, the athletes celebrate each other’s victories and mourn each other’s losses. Their empathy appears repeatedly, from the ski jumpers comforting an athlete who’d taken a really bad fall, to the curling teams cracking jokes with each other in between plays, to the figure skaters ecstatically celebrating someone who’d performed a near impossible series of spins and leaps. Though they come from different countries, different backgrounds, and different cultures, the athletes foster a community of unity and love in the midst of a competition. And from an outsider’s perspective, I was just proud of the athletes for even attempting a triple 540 McGilly twist and flip (or whatever). To me, any failure was far outweighed by the impressive efforts put in before the fall.

With Valentine’s Day just around the corner, everyone is busily finding ways to celebrate the love in their life: whether it’s romantic, platonic, familial, or the affection present in every interaction with beloved pets. However, we tend to forget to honor the most important love we have: the pure love of Christ. During His ministry, our Savior demonstrated this pure love by caring about the joys and sorrows of every single person He met. He rejoiced with the family of Jairus when their daughter was raised from death, and wept with Mary and Martha at their brother’s tomb. He empathized with the outcasts, the sick, and those society cast beneath their feet. He cheers all of us on, and celebrates our victories or grieves our losses right by our side. But most of all, He’s just proud of the efforts that we’re putting in. Our daily successes, no matter how small, far outweigh our failures.

There’s a quote I love that goes, “You can’t compete with me. I want you to win too.” Never did this quote ring truer than in my senior season championship swim meet, my fiercest competition ever. Stakes were high, tensions were thick, and every swimmer was determined to do their very best to qualify for state. Our region holds some of the highest-level swimmers in Alaska, including two Olympians, so you can imagine the competitive atmosphere in the pool.

Despite what you may think though, I have never experienced a more close-knit community than the group of athletes I was competing against. The girls’ relay team from Seward effusively congratulated everyone who crossed their path. When a swimmer who was seeded first in the 50-yard freestyle lost her goggles and had a spectacular failure of a race, dozens of athletes from every team surrounded her with love, comfort, and solidarity. One of the Olympians came up to me and told me how impressed she was by my races. And a close friend, who’d never before been to one of my meets, told me over and over again how impressed she was by all the swimmers. She was so proud of everyone’s races, even the ones that ended in a spectacular failure. You might say, “Avery, you were obviously still competing against everyone.” And yes, physically we were all still racing each other to win, but all of our hearts were knit together in a community of unity and love.

Satan tricks us into thinking that salvation is a competition, but Christ wants everyone to win. He extends the offer of eternal life to those who follow His word, but also to those who fall. To those who fail to make the podium. To those who miss the shot. To the lepers and the adulteresses and the Pharisees and the publicans--Christ wants us all to win.

During this Valentine’s season and through the rest of the year, I hope that you remember to celebrate and honor the pure love of Christ in your life. Remember His commandment in Luke 6:31 to “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” Lift up the people around you. Help carry their burdens. Mourn with those who have sorrows in their life. Rejoice in the victories of your friends. Every effort you make to show love to your neighbors is noted with pride by our Redeemer. Instead of viewing everyone around you as a competitor, look for ways that you can help each other reach the finish line. You can’t compete with me. I want you to win too.

Recently turned 18, Avery Palenske is overjoyed at the prospect of finally being able to buy a fish from Petco without being carded (who knew that you had to legally be an adult to purchase a goldfish?) Lately, she spends her weekends shredding the slopes, rewatching The Office with her family, and wondering if spring will ever come, but Avery always makes time to attend the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.