Where Heroes Are Made

Hebrews 12:1-2
By Harold Dinsmore, M.Div.
© 2007 Harold Dinsmore

While attempting to rescue a fellow soldier, Bob Wieland lost both his legs in Vietnam. He had dreamed of being a professional baseball player after the war, but that dream was gone forever. Many men in this situation are overcome with bitterness, but Bob wasn't. He said, "I lost my legs, not my heart", and he continued his quest for athletic achievement. He walks on his hands now and has completed a three year Walk Across America.

On Thursday, November 6, 1986, Bob Wieland finally crossed the finish line. He was the New York City Marathon's 19,413^th and final finisher; and the first to run a marathon with his arms instead of his legs! He recorded what race officials said was the slowest time in marathon history: four days, two hours, 48 minutes, 17 seconds. But he was greeted like a champion by race director, Fred Lebow, who had written Wieland off as a dropout.

Wieland said, "Success is not based on where you start, it's where you finish, and I finished. The first step was the most difficult, after that, we were on our way home. The joy has been the journey." Wieland started Sunday at 8:23 a.m., more than two hours before the main body of runners. But, moving at an average speed of about one mile an hour, his lead soon vanished; Wieland runs in a sitting position, using his muscular arms like crutches to lift his torso and swing it forward. He sits on a 15 pound saddle and covers his clenched fists with pads he calls "size 1 running shoes."

Sermon title and illustration and some content of this sermon provided by LifeWay Christian Resources as part of the VBS promotion packet.