I can
clearly remember the first year I started playing organized basketball. I was ecstatic that I could play “for real”
what I did so much in my back yard. I
wasn't familiar with the program, or the process, I just showed up ready to
play. I worked my tail off during those
try-outs and listened intently to the coaches.
However, my name was never called when the teams were announced. There were 5 teams that year, and I didn't
make 1 of them. The feeling of rejection
was enormous – I wasn't good enough to play on 1 of the 5 teams who would play
games that year. To make it worse, I got
to play on the intramural team – basically a year-long development camp. We practiced the same time as everyone else,
but we had to practice outside on unmarked cement, rusted out backboards, and no rims. The feeling of rejection
was one that lasted the entire season.
My entire
basketball career was filled with objections and rejections. During my junior season my coach informed me
that I was “on the bubble” and that I would probably end up on our varsity B
team. My younger brother made the A team
and I was allowed to suit up & warm up with the team, but I would rarely
see the floor. It wasn't a rejection
because I still got to participate, but it was a very strong objection because
I could not participate to the same extent as everyone else on the team. Needless to say, I wasn't a very happy player. Although I never said anything, I made sure
that my attitude said everything. To be
honest, my coach was gracious enough to let me stay on the team because my
attitude alone warranted me being kicked off.
The feeling of dejection from being objected to lasted the entire
season.
These are
just a couple of examples from my own playing career. Chances are that you have experienced them as
well. I’m grateful though that I had a
dad who would never let me quit, and a coach who made it a point to continually
try to help me. It’s because of these
experiences, and the lessons God taught me, that I was able to overcome many
different work issues, death, and life changes throughout my very short career
and marriage.
As a person
or a player, objection, rejection, and dejection are 3 things that you will
experience in life. As a player you have
more than likely experienced the feeling of getting cut or losing a starting
spot. As an adult, you have no doubt
experienced a lay-off, cut in pay, divorce, or loss of a loved one. It’s in these moments of objections and
rejections that dejection begins to take root in our hearts. These moments are like high winds and rolling
waves on an open sea – you don’t think you are going to make it, and begin to
sink into hopelessness.
The Apostle
Peter was this way. In Matthew 14 we
find the story of Jesus walking on the water.
As Jesus is walking near the disciple’s boat they start to cry out in
fear not knowing that it was their Master.
Finally, Jesus speaks in an effort to calm them. Peter has doubts though. He asks Jesus if he can come join Him by
walking on the water from the boat. The
winds were raging and the waves were rolling, but Peter gets out of boat
anyways. As Peter begins to walk towards
the Lord on the water he takes his eyes off Jesus and starts to look at his
circumstances. As the fear of the wind
and waves mount up against Peter, he begins to sink.
This is the
typical life experience of every human being.
The wind and waves of objection and rejection, and the subsequent feeling
of dejection cause us to lose hope – we take our eyes off the Lord. We begin to sink in the storm of our
circumstances. We forget that the power
of Jesus is so great that even the wind and sea obey him (Matt. 8:27). We forget that during these circumstances
Jesus tells us to “Be of good cheer; it is I; be not afraid” (Matt. 14:27).
Coach CJ
Executive Director –
C.H.S.M.
Follow CHSM on Twitter
(@chsmhouston)
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Twitter (@CJPomeroy1)
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