Mindset of a Champion

Our holiday travels to grandma’s house this year took us over the mountains and through the town of Monroe where we encountered slow traffic. It was there, waiting for a light to turn green, that a high school boy on the sidewalk caught our eye. He was so busy that he didn’t seem inhibited by what people may have thought about him.

Picture it.

Alone, arms empty, up and down the sidewalk he ran. He was playing in an imaginary football game of his life and competition was intense. Jogging at first, he took the invisible ball and dropped back to pass. Scanning the field and dodging the defense, finally he found his guy. It was himself. When the time was right, he launched a perfect virtual spiral down the sidewalk. I could almost see it sailing through the air. What would happen? Transforming from quarterback to receiver, a one man team, he kicked it into high gear, sprinting and turning over his back shoulder expectantly, both hands in the air. It was a great throw, but still he had to stretch and leap upwards to make the catch. He caught it!!! Coming down with the ball tucked under his arm, he ran it into the end zone and the celebration dance began. He smiled and cheered, looking around as he held the ball triumphantly in the air for all to see. The play had gone just as he hoped and he was a champ. His fans celebrated victory with him and he jumped for joy.

Happy.

I swallowed and felt my eyes get misty. I’d like to be more like that— to spend more time thinking about all that could go right than worrying about what might go wrong.

As we near the end of 2020, we remember strife and pain in our nation this year. Uncertainty remains in politics, COVID virus, election, health of our loved ones, and the economy. We wish circumstances were different. We don’t know what the year will bring for families, schools, churches, businesses, or governments. Trying to figure it out is a dead end. We can’t control it or change it. We can only control ourselves and the thoughts we allow ourselves to think.

What if we learned from this young man on the sidewalk?

We are not passive spectators. We are in the game and the story of our lives is being written. Will we love wholeheartedly and do our best trying to make things better? Will we spend our time lamenting the ball we dropped in the past, or anticipating the next play? Will we plan our next move as if we know God is with us and all of heaven is cheering us on?

Here are some of the things the disciple John wrote down about what Jesus said about having the right mindset.