Road to Being a Champion:

I was just at the Iowa state golf meet to cheer on my fiance’s team he coaches.  This was a very good time.  I had a really good time getting to talk and cheer on the student golfers, the chance to talk to a lot of families of the golfers and see their many victories  throughout the two days.  The best news was that the team won! They are state champions! I was so proud of them and all they accomplished.  Cole was also really happy for the girls.  He wanted this for them so badly. 

The road to being a champion isn’t always very easy.  In fact, I would say, most of the time, it is very hard and there are many ups and downs.  There are triumphs and defeats.  While an effortless win or championship would be nice and relaxing, there is something about coming together and achieving something after the many setbacks.  It is feeling as though you saw something through to the end, even when there were obstacles that tried to step in your way.  

This team certainly had their hurdles.  One of the biggest obstacles was that one of the golfers wasn’t able to golf for a majority of the season due to a knee injury.  She was a good leader and cheerleader for the rest of the girls while she recovered, but she wasn’t able to include her score or be able to practice.  However, she was able to come back at the very end of the season, during the team’s second regional golf meet to help propel them to the state golf meet. She was the second golf score at state for the team, so her comeback made a huge difference. 

There also were some other big giants in their competition to the top.  There was a team who had been undefeated all year, and their scores were incredible.  Then there was another school who won the prior year and was back again at state, and this team also had a 3-year school individual champion.  There were definitely some intimidating factors out there.  However, Day 1 the team shot their best score in school’s history, and this propelled them to the top.  

The hard thing was keeping their score up for the second day.  They needed to make sure no one would come up behind them and take their number one spot.  It was very important they kept focus to keep up their scores.  They needed to be confident, but not overly confident that they made some easily overlooked bad decisions and mistakes.  The one team did get closer in the score, and there was definitely some stress and anxiety for all those watching.  However, the athletes and the coaches kept their cool and completed the course with the ultimate lowest score, propelling them to the top and victory.  

God highlights championships in the Bible as well.  God loves to acknowledge when people have completed and achieved the hard things.  There are hard things people, especially Christians have to overcome throughout their lives.  However, we should all strive to be champions of Christ one day.  One example of a verse highlighting being a champion is 2 Timothy 4:7-8 which says, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.”

The challenge for this week is to focus on your particular course.  What is your particular path the Lord has set in front of you?  What has God created and planned for you to complete?  What is the way you can best complete this challenge?  Is there a challenge God has given you, you need to overcome?

I would say my course currently right now is to do the best I absolutely can for the students who are in the Job Foundation.  I know a lot of 125 students who are not in the best life situation and who need more guidance and love.  This includes the students who are easy to get along with and the students who are not as easy to get along with or who need more attention and guidance.  I also need to challenge myself more to spread God’s love with all those who are around me.  I often forget to really spread God’s word and his wisdom to all who need to hear it.  I may be afraid and impatience at times, but this is the course God has set before me, and I hope to be a champion at the end of my days for Christ.