I cry at movies. Movies a guy is not supposed to cry at. I’m okay with that.

I cry at big life events. My wedding. The birth of my daughters. That is right and good.

I cry at incredibly sad times of my life. Pain, death and loss all bring tears. Totally appropriate.

But I could not sit through more than 2 minutes of Special Olympics World Games Coverage on ESPN without weeping like a baby. Why? The Special Olympics World Games from Los Angeles have been the GREATEST THING EVER PUT ON TELEVISION.

Special Olympians demonstrated several beautiful, God-honoring traits that bring tears. (click on links for great videos)

1. Courage: Against overwhelming difficulty from seeming disabilities to the incredible cruelty of classmates and society.
2. Inclusion: As athletes, as competitors, as HUMAN BEINGS.
3. Smiles. Seriously beautiful smiles. Nothing better.

“Let me win… but if I cannot win… let me be brave in the attempt.”

But DON’T MISS THIS. There are 2 other realities that make me cry when it comes to the Special Olympics.

1. The Neglect and Abuse of an Ignorant, Fallen, Hateful World. Please watch these videos.

2. And finally, there is this reality. That at the same time the world was celebrating these special athletes, we have  been complicit in the systematic murder, dissection, and distribution of these beautiful, compassionate, courageous HUMAN BEINGS in utero. “Choices” that allow so-called “parents” to decide to “terminate” “products of conception” for convenience or because they are “less than human.” (Some statistics state that 90% of children diagnosed in the womb with Down syndrome are aborted) READ MORE HERE.

Please hear me… let us not demean those with intellectual disabilities or physical disabilities as if they are LESS THAN HUMAN. But more than that… LET THEM LIVE. They have so much to contribute to our lives.

An unborn baby is full of potential… to become ALL that God wants him/her to become. And love, truth, compassion, and humanity DEMANDS that we treat all lives with dignity.

So I cry. For the beauty of God’s strength being demonstrated in the weaknesses of many. And I cry for the millions who have been murdered.

For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them. (Psalms 139:13-16)