Renewal - In Sports, In Life

10/13/2017

Chad Griffin

Whether it is protest or non protest, whether it is having a united front or having just one person lead a discussion, sports have become a more talked about subject other than the play that actually happens on the field or court. Sports typically can rally a school or community and even the nation. The Olympics, the World Cup, and other major sporting events bring us together or at times separate us. I live in a sports-filled universe as Athletic Director; I Coach; I am married to a Coach, and my children have grown up on the fields and courts. I have said this so many times in my blogs, and I firmly believe it more now than ever. Education-based athletics is one of the last true reality shows going. Where else can you experience victory and defeat in the same moments? Sports is a microcosm of life. You are not always going to succeed; you are not always going to win; more times than not, you’re going to fail! And it is ok--because failure and our human frailty can only bring about a deeper sense of purpose to strive on, to be better in our everyday lives, whether in sports or life. I keep this verse in my office and when I am struggling, in my back pocket as a reminder: 2 Corinthians 4:16: “Therefore we do not give up, even though our outer person is being destroyed, our inner person is being renewed.” Paul goes on to write: “For our momentary light affliction is producing for us an absolutely incomparable eternal weight of glory. So we do not focus on what is unseen; for what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.” That is our goal; it has to be about more than winning; it has to be about the renewal of spirit when something does not go our way. In life there are going to be far greater obstacles to overcome. But through Christ’s Word, we will win for eternity!

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