Miracle on Miracle

Forty-six years after the Lake Placid “Miracle on Ice” in the 1980 Winter Olympics, the U.S. men’s hockey team has again won gold, this time defeating Canada when Jack Hughes scored a sudden death “golden goal” in overtime on Sunday. The U.S. win completed a clean sweep for U.S. hockey, with the women’s team also defeating Canada to win the gold medal a few days prior. While neither of the two gold medals was a sports “miracle” in the mold of 1980 (both of the modern teams were clear gold medal contenders while the 1980 team was a significant underdog), the back-to-back wins provided a jubilant end to 2026 Winter Olympics for American fans.

Analysis and eternal perspective: In the aftermath of the two gold medals, there was some controversy (isn’t there always these days?) about the political views of members of both teams. Candidly, our takeaway as The Equipped family is an acknowledgement that anything and everything can and will be used to divide. It is up to us to decline to take the bait when it is clearly not productive.

Next, there was a moment during the celebration of the men’s win that is worth reflection. The two young children of Johnny Gaudreau, who would have been a member of the team but was killed alongside his brother when they were struck by a drunk driver while riding bicycles, were brought onto the ice for a picture with the team and their father’s jersey. It was a brief moment, but a memory that will undoubtedly live on for the rest of those young children’s lives.

Let’s together as The Equipped family consider what small acts we can engage to similarly build lifelong supports for the fatherless. Some of you will be called to do “big” things (if you want to adopt from foster care, I commend you to our work at A Fearless Life). But in all reality, most of the “big” things are little things. What little thing can you do today to be a father to the fatherless (Ps. 68:5)?