“I'm sitting beside you!”

I was in line at a candy store in the Chicago O'Hare International Airport, buying blueberry chocolate truffles. I looked up to see an unfamiliar woman who, as she pointed to my chocolates, repeated, “I'm sitting beside you!”

I thought to myself, “Lady, this is one of the busiest airports in the world. Over 883 planes fly out of here every single day. (Okay, I didn't actually know the numbers then, but I’ve since done the research!) Odds are we're not even going to be on the same plane, much less sitting together.”

That’s what I thought. What I said was, “Well, if you do, we can't eat these chocolates. My family would kill me!”

She laughed, and that was that … or so I thought.

I soon boarded the plane bound for Greensboro, found my seat and then looked up to see her walking down the aisle toward me. As she sat down beside me, she said, “Told you!”

Normally, I am all about trying to have as little conversation as possible with people beside me on a plane, but I was so struck by the circumstances that I asked:

“Do you live in Greensboro?”

“No. I live in Chicago.”

“What brings you to Greensboro?”

“My brother and I are presenting at the U.S. Figure Skating Championship there tomorrow night. We used to skate pairs. In fact, in 1965, we finished first in the U.S. and second in the world.”

Okay, this conversation was not at all what I was expecting.

I said, “I'm sorry, but I don’t really know a whole lot about pairs skating.” (I specifically said "pairs" because I didn't figure she had any business knowing about my crush on Kristi Yamaguchi.)

“Did you and your brother skate in the Olympics?”

“We did … 1964.”

“How’d you do?”

She said, “Um, that’s complicated.”

And then she began to tell

her story.

Her name is Vivian Joseph and she and her brother, Ronald, were the second-ranked American pairs team at the 1964 Olympic Games in Innsbruck. They exceeded all expectations by finishing fourth, missing the bronze by three-tenths of a point.

However, at the time, there were numerous rumors that the West German silver medalists had signed a contract with the professional ice show, Holiday on Ice, thus violating their amateur status. After a three-year investigation, the IOC stripped the West Germans of their silver medals, elevating the Canadians from third to second and the Josephs from fourth to the bronze medal position.

Which is where the story gets really strange.

Ms. Joseph told me that she had been at a party, where she was introduced to a gentleman as an “Olympic medalist.” A week or so later, he called her and disputed that claim, saying, “You may have a medal, but that's not what the record books say.”

After much digging, she and her brother discovered that 20 years after they had been awarded their medals, the IOC had re-awarded the silver medals to the West Germans, dropping the Josephs back to fourth place.

For those keeping score at home:

• The West Germans were awarded the silver medals, they were stripped of them three years later, but then 20 years later, the medals were returned.
• Meanwhile, the Josephs (aka the United States), who didn’t originally place, were given bronze medals three years after the event, which were taken back (at least in the record books) 20 years later, and finally, in 2013, almost 50 years after the Innsbruck Olympics, were re-awarded their bronze status.

Whew!

Aren’t you glad God doesn’t flip-flop like that?

Paul wrote to the Romans …

“For God’s gifts and his call are irrevocable.” (Romans 11:29)

The Message paraphrases Paul’s words …

“God’s gifts and God’s call are under full warranty — never canceled, never rescinded.”

Jesus told His Disciples …

“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives.” (John 14:27, emphasis mine)

I believe that Jesus was telling His Disciples (which includes us) that His peace is different from the kind of peace that the world offers. The world’s idea of “peace” is temporary, fleeting, empty and based on our circumstances as well as what we do (aka karma). But Jesus offers a peace that comes from what He did, a peace that “transcends all understanding” (Philippians 4:7), a peace that can be ours even during struggles or trouble

(John 16:33). As a result, we do not have to worry or be afraid.

But I believe Jesus was also revealing to us that God is not some arbitrary, capricious God who just takes back His gifts on a whim. (Yes, I know what Job said. That’s a discussion for another time.)

James wrote:

“Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.” (James 1:17)

Which means that neither time nor circumstances will ever change the fact that God is the ultimate Giver. In contrast, Satan, the thief who came “to steal and kill and destroy” (John 10:10) is the ultimate taker!

Like the guy Ms. Joseph met at the party, Satan calls us up to let us know that what we think we have — whether it’s forgiveness or salvation or peace or any number of other God-given gifts — that we don’t really have those things at all.

Do not let the father of lies lie to you! No matter what life may bring, you can be confident in your good God and in His good gifts!

“Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.”