Before dating and marrying Joel I was not heavily into sports. In college, I went to football games to socialize and to do stadium cleanup and then maybe topped it off by going to a few other random sports events along the way. In high school I was a cheerleader and spectator for all of the sports my brothers played.
One of the first things Joel and I disagreed about when getting married was his time spent on sports (TV, Internet, actually playing, etc). He, in no way, is obsessed with sports.... the man spends so much time with people and at being an awesome husband to me, but I didn't and don't watch much TV and so I thought it was a lot. I think Joel saw my point of view and he has certainly become more aware of his time spent on sports, but he certainly wasn't going to become a completely different person just because I rarely watched TV and had little interest in sports.
During the first couple months of our marriage I heard this quote from Carolyn Mahaney that goes something like this. "Enjoy the 80% of your spouse that you absolutely love and focus on being thankful for this, because you will probably only end up changing about 2% of the 20% of them that you don't always like." Joel is a great man and there is so much about him that I love (I mean I did marry him) and so at this point I decided that I needed to just love Joel and if nothing else, start enjoying his hobbies too.
It's taken some work and I still can't swing a golf club for my life (and I'm ok with never being able to do this), but I have learned to enjoy watching sports with him. I think it is fun for him to help me learn and to just be able to sit down and watch a game (where I know the players and some of their past). I've also learned that sports are an outlet that he does a lot of ministry with men in, playing sports is a way for him to get some great exercise, and they are a great way for him to spend quality time with his guy friends (and trust me, though you don't always think so initially when you date and get married you still need same gender friends... so don't cut them off).
All of that to say.... it is funny that I am writing a blog post about sports! In a sense, I may be turning over a new leaf!
UCONN Women's basketball has been undefeated for 78 games (I know a stat)! Let me tell you non-sports women, this is a BIG DEAL! In an interview with Maya Moore (that is right, I know her name!), after she led her team in a turnaround win against Stanford to take home the National Championship Trophy, ESPN asked her about what the season has been like for her. She stated that with so many critics and people doubting them that the hardest and most important part of their game has been consistency. She also mentions that to play well they couldn't question themselves and to play in fear but to love the game, play their heart out, and play with confidence.
Click here to see video
I was really taken back by her comments because yes, a lot of people have been doubting and questioning how long UCONN can keep it up (I mean honestly, I was hoping Standford would upset them). But, when you really think about it, isn't is so much easier to lose at things than it is to keep winning? If you apply this to the Christian life, it's so much easier to just give up or sleep in and not spend good time with God than it is to consistently get up and engage. It's a choice to not fear and to trust and have confidence God and where he has you. It's a hard choice to not be afraid or to not complain about life and to instead love what you're doing and to play your heart out... allowing the holy spirit to work through you (even when you are tired).
Wow! What a challenge to me, Maya Moore, this basketball girl has been! Maybe I'll learn something awesome while watching the Master's Golf Tournament with my man this weekend! Lord knows we'll have a lovely time while I recover from getting out my wisdom teeth! Haha!
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