(Before I start, this story won’t make as much sense unless you read The Unspoken Blog first. To get the full story, go to The Unspoken.)
BENEFITS OF SPORTS & A BROKEN TEEN
It could have only been by Gods hand that I continued to go to school, do my homework, attend school functions with friends and participated in sports. I still don’t understand how an event like this didn’t turn me upside down. And if you knew my family history, you might understand why.
Even though my life didn’t turn upside down, I still had a hard time recovering and the only thing that I believe truly kept me going, were sports.
Sports are fun and require hard work. And as a teenager, my coaches made sure to encourage me and tell me that if I wanted to be on varsity, I had to step up my effort. That talent isn’t the most important. Truly this was so encouraging. It gave me something to earn and to fight for, even though I felt like I had lost. It gave me hope for my future which is exactly what the Bible tells us God will do.
Jeremiah 29:11. “For I know the plans I have for you declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future.”
My coaches were vessels of God to give me hope for my future. Even if they didn’t know it. They taught me to have character and grit, which at the time was hard for me because I was already slowly loosing vision of who I was. But God still had a hold on me, even when the devil was trying to take me down every chance he got.
Though I was taken advantage of, and broken, sports are what kept me going back to school. I worked my way to varsity and I tried the best I knew how.
Looking back, my coaches gave me vision of what life was going to look like out of high school. They helped me become aware of what I needed to be to have the life I wanted. They helped me understand how hard I needed to work in order to become the best version of myself.
From waking up early, being persistent, having endurance, and taking care of my body, it helped prepare me for what life was going to look like.
I believe it was a miracle and a gift from God that I had the talent to play basketball because God knew it would give me the strength to keep going. So all glory and praise to our Heavenly Father for taking care of me.
I pray that as you look back on your life, that you would think about how God was there for you. Sometimes we question and ask God where he was in our most painful or traumatic moments. But if we sit still and think, we will find all kinds of moments where He showed up for us, even when it felt like he was absent.
For more on my story, stay tuned for my next blog post!
