Living Life by Design

In the late 1970’s I was officially bitten by the tennis bug. I would take a quick drive to the local high school and hit for hours against a wall in a handball court. On weekends, I would see people hitting on tennis courts and ask if I could join them. Typically, it wasn’t pretty. I had a difficult time keeping a rally going. My dad thought I was crazy spending so much time playing the game.

I played my first tournament in 1976. I was in the C+ division. Tennis was booming across the country and the cities of San Bernardino and Riverside were hot spots. The tennis rating systems the tournaments used were, D, C, B, A and Open. Tournaments in San Bernardino were so large they had to break each division into ‘+’ and ‘-‘. So in the ‘C’ division there was, ‘C-, C and C+.’

My dad didn’t want me to play the tournament. He wanted us to do something else over the 3-day holiday weekend the tournament was held. I can vividly remember him saying, “Why do you want to play? You’re not going to win.” 

It was grueling playing multiple matches over that long weekend in 100+ degree heat. However, It was all worth it seeing my dads face at the awards banquet when they handed me the 1st place trophy for winning the C+ division.

My Christian walk has been like the competitive matches I played over that long weekend so many years ago. Each victory has built upon the next. At times it felt more like running a long race. The writer of Hebrews likens the Christian life to a race….more of a marathon than a sprint. We are ‘long-distance runners’ (Hebrews 12:13, MSG). It requires training, endurance and discipline ‘if we are not to grow weary and lose heart’ (v.3). 

I loved playing tennis, and I still do. I was willing to practice, sacrifice and endure everything I had for a little recognition and a $5.00 trophy. 

What is your faith and daily walk worth to you?