Athletic,? well kind of

I don't much to write about today, it was just another Wednesday. It was Wednesday, except that I got to play over two hours of basketball for work. Sometimes, ministry is a great profession because I get to do stuff like this.

The college students are still home, and so Todd and I put off work for a few hours to play some ball. It had been a long, long time since I played basketball. I remember one time running to the Dedman Center at SMU and then shooting baskets for a little while before running home. But it has been a long time since I actually played a game.

I learned that which I had forgotten, but had learned many, many times. I am not a good basketball player. I still hold myself to be somewhat athletic, after all I did compete on scholarship for a Division I cross country and track team. But when it comes to basketball I am all limbs. I can't seem to run fast in short spurts. I have no lateral quickness. I can't jump. I can hardly shoot. My hand-eye coordination is lacking. In the end, I only play on the one thing I have more than most people- grit.

That one crucial element has been my friend through much of my athletic endeavorer's. In track, I ran the 800m. Some people describe this event as mid-distance. What they are really meaning to say is it is not a distance run (so 800m runners don't have excessive endurance); nor is it a sprint (so 800m runners don't have excessive speed). What are they left with then? Strength? Hardly. 800m runners depend almost exclusively on heart. The race is short and intense. It is really a series of tough decisions. When I was racing, I was always a little afraid of the 800 because of the fact that I would have to make some really hard decision. But the 800 strategy was simply that at 300m I would have to decide where I would settle in the pack. At 400m I would have to decide to not fall back for the next 200m, which really means maintain a pace that seems impossible for anther lap. At 600m I would have to decide to get up on my toes and go! At 750m, I would have to decide to push past the numbness all over my body and the lactic acid that had by this time crept into my mouth. Even my gums hurt at the end of my race!

But the good thing coming out of this that has helped me most of the times is learning that I can make that tough decision when it comes to it. Whether that is going into a hospital room, standing up to preach a sermon, or even playing basketball with college guys.