Community Post: Take a Lap

Is there anyone who actually likes to experience trials? Who likes to be disciplined or corrected? I don't know anyone who does...we were wired to avoid pain.

When we go for minor surgery, we know there will be pain but we also know that, if all goes well, we will be better for it. The same goes for any difficulty in our lives. Often pain can bring us to a place of greater understanding and provide an opportunity for growth.

While playing college basketball, I remember a stretch of time in which I just couldn’t make a lay-up. Yes, that’s right, there was about a week or two when I experienced this mental block and I couldn’t make a “bunny” (and I’m 6’8" or as I like to say 5’20"— that’s why my website is 5feet20.com). Put me 15-20 feet from the basket and I was fine, but up close, I fell apart.

During one practice, we were running through our “press breaker.” This was what we did when our opponent would put a full-court press on us and guard us the entire length of the court. We tried to turn this into an opportunity to score quickly. I was typically assigned to the position under our basket, probably because I was one of the slowest on the team (but I made up for it by not being able to jump very high!). As the ball was passed from teammate to teammate, I was to position myself for an easy layup.

During practice, my teammates were executing their portion flawlessly and getting the ball to me so I could score. However, I repeatedly would clang it off the rim. My coach and my teammates were not very happy with me.

They were all offering input to help me but I was not very open to it. I thought to myself, Come on, this is a lay-up, the simplest shot there is. How much instruction do I need? I was determined to fix my issue on my own, probably because of my embarrassment and pride.

Finally, my coach couldn’t take it anymore and announced, “Okay, for each lay-up that Lange misses from here on out, all of you will be running a line drill.” (This was a very unpleasant running exercise which was often used as “discipline.”) All of my teammates groaned and I felt incredible pressure.

The next couple of times I still missed, so we ran. I remember a few of my teammates continuing to encourage me and offer suggestions. Now, because of the discipline we were receiving, I was eager for anything that may have been helpful. I was finally open to receiving instruction to help me out of my slump. Thankfully, I eventually began to make my shots and regain my confidence.

I can’t remember what it was that helped me turn it around, but I can tell you this: I was driven to change...so driven that I would even accept coaching from my teammates on making this silly little shot. I did not want to run anymore and I especially didn’t want my teammates running because of me. That was very painful. But, I believe it was that pain that helped me get to a point of being willing to accept the teaching that got me out of my slump faster.

Unfortunately, most of us must experience difficulty in our lives in order to change our ways. Hardships help us grow and mature. Hopefully, knowing this can help us view trials differently. Though each of us might experience them differently, one thing is sure, trials are not easy.

In your next difficult time, rather than wondering why this is happening, will you be willing to ask God what He may be trying to teach you? If you do, you will grow in ways you never thought possible.

Jim Lange lives in Lambertville, MI and is the president of Five Feet Twenty, an organization that coaches leaders and helps them to be all God made them to be. His latest book, Calming the Storm Within: How to Find Peace in this Chaotic World along with some great free resources can be found at http://calmingthestormwithin.com.

Sports for the Glory of God

If God has created humanity with bodies that are “fearfully and wonderfully made,” we need to develop a Christian way of living that incorporates play and recreation, leisure and competition, sports and athletics. Faith in the Creator and Redeemer should lead us to identify the way sports and athletics are meant to be, discern when something is wrong with sports in our broken and sinful culture, and imagine ways to be instruments of redemption in this sphere. In this series, Sports for the Glory of God, we engage with stories of people who are working through these issues on a daily basis.