When I was about 12 years old I decided to play football. At the time, I was an extremely obese child. I kid of got talked into it by my older brother who had started playing the year before. So, I went out and tried. I did not understand the game of football nor what it took to play the game.
The first practices of football are not about the game of football at all. They are about conditioning. Our coach wanted to ensure that we were "in shape" enough to play. So, we started out by running. At the time, running was the bane of my existence. The farthest I had ran was to the remote. My only form of athleticism was wrestling my brother for GI Joe toys. We ran and did drills for about two hours each day those initial practices. It was torture. I vomited several times. I would get passed by everyone else. I was the slowest on the team. I got picked on and made fun of and tortured by the older kids. Eventually, those conditioning sessions got easier.
Then practicing the game of football began. Like I said before, I really didn't understand football. My coach told us that it was not a contact sport, but rather a collision sport. Did you know that the average hit in football is equivalent to being in a car wreck at 30 miles per hour? That first day I got hit so much that I literally could not move. My mother had to feed me the next morning. My body was black, blue, and green all over. I kept on going and kept on trying. We won all except one of our games that first year. I kept playing football all through high school and even some in an amateur Semi-pro league after college.
Looking back now on my athletic career I can honestly say that I was not a great football player. However, I had resolve and just wouldn't give up. It is amazing what a little bit of grit and determination will do.
In today's world we are all pressured. Pressured by the economy, by the demands of works, by family and friends needs, by obligations. Sometimes it is just good to remember that if we"keep on keeping on" we can have success and things will work out. Paul told the Philippians-forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead. He pressed on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ, and he said in Romans 8:28 that "And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those that are called according to his purpose."
We all need a little resolve and remember that no matter how bad things are right now, things are going to get better. We just might need to take a few hits, get some bumps and bruises, and vomit a few times!
2 comments:
Amen!! I, too, had a similar experience(only it was baseball). The initial practices involved conditioning and endless days of situational positioning. A few months later, we were ALLOWED to touch a baseball. AMAZINGLY, when the ball was hit anywhere in the field, we fielders knew EXACTLY where we were to be and our bodies just went there AUTOMATICALLY.
When we train our bodies, hearts and minds to do what God wants, I think we can and should relax and know that God is here, and will help us through our days.
I truly enjoy your writing. You may not have been a great football player, but you have talent as a writer/speaker. Keep up the great work.
Its weird to think about torchering yourself to the point of pukeing! But in the end I know it was worth if for you. Just don't think that I could ever do something like that to myself. I guess that's why God made me a girl..lol.
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