On the edge
There you are: feet pounding along the flat dirt path—the only path you’re allowed to run because of your injury. The summer before your senior year isn’t going as planned. Not even close. Your eyes fill with tears as you think of everything that has gone wrong. Your cross-country coach moved to Wisconsin. The summer biology course at Santa Barbara City College is the hardest you’ve ever taken. You have to qualify for a different math class and get your internship figured out. And, to top it all off, you hurt your achilles tendon and can’t run like you want to. “Disappointments and ceaseless woes…” 1 is the constant refrain in your thought. Your breathing becomes shallow and you gasp for air.
I know it seems hard right now. There are problems in every direction. But Jordan, think about it: When was the last time something worked out exactly the way you planned? And even then, hasn’t it always turned out better than you imagined? Though nothing seems settled right now, I can promise you it will work out. I know you “know” that, but take a moment to consider what that really means. It means that God always has provided and always will provide exactly what you need, exactly when you need it. God doesn’t know what it means to be burdened. Lean on Him, and you won’t feel like it’s all too much.
“Disappointments and ceaseless woes….” There’s that phrase again. But remember how it ends? “Disappointments and ceaseless woes,” wrote Mary Baker Eddy, “turn us like tired children to the arms of divine Love.” Your job is to be that tired child and to turn to God. These aren’t your problems to endure; you can release them to God.
Maybe these disappointments and woes can actually be turned into blessings. Your achilles? Listen to God and stop listening to matter–what say does it have? Biology? Study the textbook, but put your study of Christian Science first. Your classes and plans for next year? Keep listening to God, and trust that His guidance includes you and everyone. And your coach? Be the example that she always was, and know that she’s in her right place, doing the right thing for her. Just like you are. Who knows: Maybe she’ll be back.
Right now, you’re still on that flat path, feeling defeated. But in just a little while, you’ll be soaring. “God is working His purpose out.” 2 His purpose—and yours. And pretty soon, your favorite coach will be encouraging you as you kill a hill workout.
Love,
Jordan
Topics: Right Place, Sports, Stress | Tags: achilles, Anxiety, coach, cross-country, disappointment, injury, tendon
