Pace and Patience

This weekend, I spent time with my good friend John re-learning to play the game of racquetball. John, who have played in tournaments for decades, took the time to break me back into the game. And my, did it hurt. A game that I once loved as a college student and while I started traveling heavily as a consultant. As the project demands grew more intense, the more guilty I felt about hanging on to my hobby. I wish I knew then what I know now. It was not worth giving up so much only to receive so little in return.

John's thoughtful and insightful manner of teaching resonated with me on different levels - in the context of the game of racquetball itself and launching of The LifeWell. Here is a recap of some of John's instructions:

'Go slow. Give yourself time to relearn the game."
"You know the basics but you've got a lot more to learn to be competitive.
Practice serving the ball to one spot on the wall consistently.
"Go to the ball"
"Position yourself to return the ball in the most powerful way.
Don't worry about the racket. The string wrapped around your wrist makes sure that the racket stays connected to you.
To hit the ball effectively, you've got to hold the racket right.


I managed to make it through the drills - albeit I felt as if I had perspired about 2 liters. As we left the court and set around talking, John looked over to me and said, "Todd, you're just starting out. For you, it's all about pace and patience. As long as you know that you are following the Lord's leading, trust Him with the results.

It brought to mind a passage from the book of Hebrews:

"Therefore since we also are surrounded with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight and the sin which so easily besets us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus the Author and Finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame,
and sat down at the right of the throne of God."
(Hebrews 12:1-2)