The summer before I went into the fifth grade, I decided to play football. I’ve never been a particularly big guy, and, to be honest, I was a bit intimidated at the thought of hitting and getting hit. So, on the Saturday before practices began, my father took me to Thompson’s Sporting Goods and purchased everything on the list the coaches had sent out – pants, pads, cleats, practice jerseys, etc…
When we got home, Dad told me to go to my room, put on the equipment and meet him in the backyard. Getting dressed took me a minute since it was all new to me, but once I figured it out, I made my way to the backyard. As I walked outside, there he was with what seemed like every pillow in our house duct taped around his body. I don’t think I’ll
ever get that picture out of my head; at least, I hope I don’t!
As I stepped out the back door, he yelled, “Run at me!” Not fully understanding, I just stood there until he yelled again, “I said, ‘Run at me!” So I strapped on the helmet and obeyed my father. I ran at him and was met with the full force of his pillow-covered self.
As I got up off the ground, he repeated, “Run at me!” And again and again, for the next 30 minutes or so, that’s what we did. When he had had enough, we stopped, and Dad looked at me and said, “You don’t need to be intimidated; you’ll never get hit harder than you did today.”
Now, to be honest, in this instance, Dad turned out to be a big, fat liar. I got hit plenty harder than that day on several occasions. But he was correct about not needing to be intimidated.
As I learned the sport and understood the playbook…
As I worked out and grew stronger…
As I developed relationships with my teammates…
As I got hit and learned to get back up…
As I practiced and improved…
I didn’t need to be intimidated.
I just needed to do it.
This Wednesday, we are introducing a new priority for our Church Family, our Midweek Prayer. And for many, prayer can be intimidating… but it doesn’t need to be.
We need to learn more about it and better understand the playbook. We need to work out and grow stronger. We need to develop relationships with our teammates. When we get hit, we learn to get back up. We practice, and we improve. We just do it.
See you Wednesday!