At the end of this most recent Disaster Day as I explained
that the show must go on regardless, I was asked by one of my gymnasts, “Do we
ever just stop our routine? What if the fire alarm goes off?” And my answer
was, “Only if your coach tells you to. You know what my voice sounds like
yelling at you, you know the sound of all your coaches’ voices, so if the fire
alarm goes off, you keep going until your coach tells you to stop.”
Perhaps the greatest struggle a gymnast has is the millions
of voices speaking into their lives. Gymnastics
isn’t as cool a sport as (insert whatever sport you can think of). You
need to work harder to be as good as her. You
have practice on Friday night—that sucks! I’m doing this, I think you
should do this too and not gymnastics. Nobody
comes to your meets, but everyone watches this sport all the time. The
popular girls do this sport, not gymnastics. You always have practice. This cost a lot of money. If you don’t get your grades up, you can’t
go to practice.
These voices come from the doubts and fears within
ourselves, from parents, other family members, and friends. There are always a
dozen or so reasons to not make it to practice, and once in the gym, there are
hundreds of reasons to be discouraged and feel inadequate. The biggest
obstacles I face with gymnasts sometimes, are overcoming the voices of their
parents telling them that they are perfect already, or that they should work
harder to be like (insert name of gymnast
who is better than them). If any of us were perfect, we wouldn’t need to practice, because we would be like God.
And comparing ourselves to one another is like pouring water on the fire.
It’s the same with our spiritual lives too. There are so
many voices telling us what is right, wrong, good, and bad about ourselves,
what we are doing, and our lives that sometimes it is hard to hear God’s voice,
or even know what His voice sounds like. The athlete in training must be
willing to be trust their coach, and listen to their voice in a noisy world.
But
who are you, a human being, to talk back to God?
“Shall what is formed say to
the one who formed it,
‘Why did you make me like this’?”
Does not the potter
have the right to make out of the same lump of clay
some pottery for special purposes
and some for common use? (Romans 9:20-21)
Gymnastics is an individual sport. We may compete as a team
sometimes, but overall, the medals are handed out to individuals, not teams.
Each gymnast is different, and has different weaknesses and strengths. A coach
has to develop the strengths but also strengthen the weaknesses if they want to
have a well-rounded gymnast that is able to grow and continue to learn. Not
addressing a gymnast’s weaknesses will stunt their growth in the sport. The
gymnast, though, has to trust their coach when they are stuck in their
weaknesses. There is nothing harder than doing something that is already
painfully hard over and over and over again for no apparent reason.
God loves us too much to let us to let our growth be stunted
by doubts, fears, and half-truths. When we feel like we are facing the same
trials over and over perhaps we need to realize that God is refining us and
strengthening us. I struggle with believing I am good enough for others to
love. It makes me seek out the approval of others, rather than the approval of
God. Over the past year though, God has been training this weakness and making
it stronger. Every time I would doubt myself, and who I am, God has brought
something wonderful out of the situation as a way of saying, “I created you just right, you are good
enough for me, and I have a plan and purpose for your life that you don’t have
to stress after.” The temptation is still there, but lately I haven’t been
falling into the same traps. The weak muscles have been refined and toned
through repetition and I have made tentative progress in this area.
Not trusting our great Heavenly Coach also puts us at risk.
We will justify our position, argue our case, and doubt the goodness of God the
Father which leads us away from His love, rather than into it. But who are you, a human being to talk back
to God? I’m not saying we should do things blindly, no, we need to ask
questions, and search for answers and meaning, and seek to understand. But
there’s a difference when we say, “I don’t think that is right,” and “I don’t
understand why that is right.” One opens up conversation which can give rise to
understanding. The other shuts down any avenue for relationship because it
seeks a higher position of authority. When we refuse to trust our coach, we
aren’t hurting them, we are hurting ourselves.
When one of my gymnasts is struggling with a new skill, I
always tell them to try doing several and come back to me for feedback. The
ones that I have been coaching for several years have learned that parents and
other gymnasts can say what they want, but it is the coach’s voice that matters
when they are wanting to know how they are doing, and how to be better. One of
the greatest things a gymnast can learn is to trust the coach. To hear their
voice, and trust their voice above all the others in the world, even those of
their parents. In this life of faith, we have to know what Jesus’ voice sounds
like and be willing to trust that voice.
My sheep know my
voice; I know them, and they follow me. (John 10:27)
We need to know God’s voice and trust it. When He gives us tasks
or challenges to train us and refine us, we need to trust that He is good and
is pushing us to be the best we can be. God is forming us into the best version
of ourselves, and it is the one that truly reflects the holiness and
righteousness of Jesus. We must be willing, though: willing to trust; willing
to be vulnerable; willing to believe that God is on our side; and willing to do
whatever it takes to get closer and closer to the One who will bring us into
glory.
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