Leaning against a handrail at the bottom of the stadium steps, I contemplated the nest nine minutes. I had finished my first nine-minute circuit and was coming to the end of the two-minute rest. Each circuit contains five sets of 22 jumps, a low walk, and a sprint. As time counted down to the next circuit, my brain trembled… it knew what was to come.
Flashback: I could have ended my life three years ago. At one point, my brain had concocted roughly 27 different plans, and although I never would have, I could not stop the ideas from intruding. Psychology professionals called it “Suicidal Ideation.” They’re symptoms of a psychological illness, like a thought virus in the brain, and to endure them seems impossible. The Bible of the Christian faith speaks often of endurance and shedding fear. You see, God uses all circumstances, good and bad, to shape our character if we allow Him. He is good, and brings to completion everything He begins. However, He created us… and in creating us, He gave us a lifetime of choices to make. As a coach, and during my dark season of life, I would remind my players and myself of one particular passage. A man named James (Jesus’ brother) wrote a letter and started it with:
Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing. 1
James is actually writing to Christian and the importance for them to persevere in their Christian faith, but this principle crosses into all areas of life, which is why I love Jesus’s teachings so much; they carry weight and truth throughout all of life.
“Back to the future…” Today’s rest break finally solidified James’ meaning to some tough life questions I struggle with.
The question: Why endure? Why suffer? Why not quit?
The answer: Although pain is difficult to bear, there exists a reward on the other side. Everyone deserves a right to quit, but those who quit never get to embrace the reward from persevering. Some even try cheating around the pain, but the reward is never the same. Olympic sprinter, Marion Jones—among others, exemplified this path. 2 Sometimes we know what the reward is, sometimes we do not. Other times our efforts will not even pay off the way we want, but a reward always exists for those who persevere.
Whether relational or as an athlete, I do not know when or even if my payoff will come. However, I do know one thing, if I get this next circuit done, it will get me closer to where I want to be, and that reward is worth the next nine minutes.
Whatever reward you can’t see right now is worth your next “nine minutes.”
1 Book of James chapter 1 verses 2-4
2 The transformational story of Marion Jones: https://www1.cbn.com/700club/track-and-field-icon-marion-jones
Flashback: I could have ended my life three years ago. At one point, my brain had concocted roughly 27 different plans, and although I never would have, I could not stop the ideas from intruding. Psychology professionals called it “Suicidal Ideation.” They’re symptoms of a psychological illness, like a thought virus in the brain, and to endure them seems impossible. The Bible of the Christian faith speaks often of endurance and shedding fear. You see, God uses all circumstances, good and bad, to shape our character if we allow Him. He is good, and brings to completion everything He begins. However, He created us… and in creating us, He gave us a lifetime of choices to make. As a coach, and during my dark season of life, I would remind my players and myself of one particular passage. A man named James (Jesus’ brother) wrote a letter and started it with:
Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing. 1
James is actually writing to Christian and the importance for them to persevere in their Christian faith, but this principle crosses into all areas of life, which is why I love Jesus’s teachings so much; they carry weight and truth throughout all of life.
“Back to the future…” Today’s rest break finally solidified James’ meaning to some tough life questions I struggle with.
The question: Why endure? Why suffer? Why not quit?
The answer: Although pain is difficult to bear, there exists a reward on the other side. Everyone deserves a right to quit, but those who quit never get to embrace the reward from persevering. Some even try cheating around the pain, but the reward is never the same. Olympic sprinter, Marion Jones—among others, exemplified this path. 2 Sometimes we know what the reward is, sometimes we do not. Other times our efforts will not even pay off the way we want, but a reward always exists for those who persevere.
Whether relational or as an athlete, I do not know when or even if my payoff will come. However, I do know one thing, if I get this next circuit done, it will get me closer to where I want to be, and that reward is worth the next nine minutes.
Whatever reward you can’t see right now is worth your next “nine minutes.”
1 Book of James chapter 1 verses 2-4
2 The transformational story of Marion Jones: https://www1.cbn.com/700club/track-and-field-icon-marion-jones