I've been coaching Matt's basketball team this season. It's been a fun experience coaching ten kind, enthusiastic fifth and sixth grade boys. At the start of the season I made sure to tell them I care about them more as people than as players, and that our work together was to build them up as people, then as players, then as a team.
And let me tell you, this team has come so far this season! Yes, admittedly we have more losses than wins yet the last game we had spoke volumes about the progress these boys have had. We have been telling them that so much of the game starts in their heads. Throughout the season, if the boys have fallen behind, their body language has shown their discouraged hearts. Yet in the last game, the boys were down by 10 and rather than getting in their heads and taking themselves out of the game, something new happened; the boys turned their energy up rather than down, they stayed in the fight rather than taking themselves out of the race.
They made one stop on defense. Then they made one shot. Then another stop. Then another shot. Then another stop. Then another shot. Then one of the boys made a foul shot!
These boys came within three points and with 12 seconds left in the game. They made a great play and got the ball back so we called a time out to set up a play.
On the inbounds play, the boys lost the ball but rather than giving up, they hustled back on defense and made another stop. Then as the clock ticked down...3...2...1...one of our boys took a three...
and missed. Yes, they were disappointed not to tie the game but my heart was bursting with joy because these boys showed themselves, and each other, what they had inside of them; drive, determination, courage, perseverance, belief they were able to do it, teamwork and more!
I share this exciting moment with you because in life, sometimes we can get discouraged, like the boys have been during their games. We can allow our circumstances to dictate the state of our hearts and minds rather than looking above the circumstances and looking to God; allowing Him to refine us within through the process and equip us with what we really need.
As we move into this week, I invite you to join me to...
pause. breathe. pray.™
May we remember that God goes before us and knows what is along our path this week. May we ask God to equip our hearts and minds with whatever it is we need and align our thoughts and ways with His to help us through. And when we get discouraged, may we pray to look above the circumstances to God, to help us persevere and run the race before us with dignity, grit, and grace, like the boys did in their game. So at the end of the day, we know in our hearts God would say to us, "well done," not because our circumstances were what we wanted, but because we lived aligned with His Word and truth.
With love and hope,
Shawn
"Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us."
- Romans 5:3-5