Preparing to Win
Once upon a time, when I was thin (well, thinner) and way more flexible, I was… (dramatic pause)... a middle school wrestler.
Now, before you get any ideas about tournaments and victories and shoe contracts, let me tell you one thing. I was TERRIBLE. I wrestled for three years and won exactly zero matches.
Still, for three years, twice a week I would show up to that little, sweaty, mat-filled room above the Avon Middle School gym for wrestling practice. I don’t remember much about wrestling practice but I do remember that there was a sign on the wall. It was right up front just above where the coach stood. It said:
Prepare to Win or Prepare to Lose
Now, I can’t tell you what preparing to win looked like exactly, but I know that preparing to lose looked a lot like throwing up on your third lap around the gym, then sitting out the rest of practice.
It’s no surprise I’m bad at sports; I hate to prepare and any sport is about 90% preparation. In sports you prepare and prepare every day so that when it comes time to do the thing, you can do it without thinking. The preparation becomes a natural response.
I, however, just want to do the thing. I hate gathering the materials, making sure I have everything, making sure I know what I’m doing. I’d much rather just start and figure out that stuff later.
Needless to say, this kind of attitude leaves my life full of half-finished projects and ideas. Things I’ve started fast and gotten halfway through before finding out I’m missing some key component. I’m working on it and I’m getting better, but it takes time and, ironically, a lot of practice.
What I’ve learned is every day is a chance to prepare for the person you want to be. The small things we do as we go along our daily lives are preparing us for something. And I’ve learned that every day, whatever we do and however we do it, we are preparing ourselves to be a certain type of person.
Whether we spend our time with God and work to align ourselves with his will, or we eschew those things for our own personal pleasure, we are preparing ourselves to react in some way. Basically we’re either preparing to be people of God, who show love and patience and kindness, or we’re preparing to be selfish people who care only for our own pleasure.
Whatever you do, you’re preparing for something.
The time will come when God will call your number, when the divine spotlight will turn your way and it will be your turn to do the “thing”— whatever that may be. That is the day when your preparation will matter most.
The quiet moments you pushed away the world and listened to God.
The times where you chose kindness over selfishness or patience over frustration.
The days where you sacrificed more of yourself to let in more of your creator.
Those are the moments that mold us into the people God wants us to be.
And now, as we move toward the celebration of the greatest sacrifice in history, I wonder: what are we preparing ourselves to sacrifice? Are we preparing to be the people he called us to be? Are we doing the small, everyday things that build us into better people?
Or are we going the way of the world, taking our time and energy to fulfill ourselves and no one else? Are we making excuses and sitting out of the hard stuff? Are we sacrificing preparation for pleasure?
Remember:
Prepare to Win or Prepare to Lose
How are you preparing?
Over the next few weeks, you can find reflections here at vineyardrichmond.com. Use them to prompt yourself to focus on your faith in a fresh way. Each week we will consider a different theme as we build up to the resurrection event. On Mondays, we will draw your attention to a biblical focus on a character in the gospel accounts. On Wednesdays, we will reflect personally on how that theme affects our spiritual lives. On Fridays, we will focus outwardly as we consider how God is inviting us to engage the world around us for his kingdom. If what you are learning is meaningful to you, click one of the share buttons at the top of these posts to share it with your friends. Let this be a time of personal reflection and careful examination of our own hearts and minds.