So I sit here on a plane for the first time in about a year and a half, on my way to visit one of my teammates. I’m extremely blessed by the fact that my mom has worked for United Airlines for the last 34 years. Simply meaning that where ever they fly, I can fly for free. While there are restrictions, for example I must fly standby, meaning that I only can get on if there is an open seat. So I sent my team leader a text on Sunday about flying out soon. He laughed and said yeah that would be cool. So I sent him a text yesterday asking him “what are you doing tomorrow?” It’s absolutely insane to think that just randomly I can pick up and fly almost anywhere in the country and even international. Before this can you even imagine how many times I’ve just picked up and flown out to a random city to hang out? I can tell you, NEVER! With having this amazing perk I have still never actually used it. While we have been on a couple family vacations but nothing really. Now if you’re like most other people that hear about this perk you are asking yourself “what’s wrong with this guy that he has barely been anywhere?” I laugh because I just never really had too much of a desire to go anywhere. You want to know what the crazy thing is? We have even more of a freedom in Christ and yet most people never feel a desire to use it. They’re comfortable with their feet firmly planted on the ground. Whether it’s just fear, or just a lack of desire, just as so many people say to me about my ability to fly almost anywhere, why don’t you use that freedom? Why don’t you just get out and fly free? Why don’t you rely on God and bask in the freedom he gives you. I don’t know if I’ve ever felt as alive as I did at training camp. I cut out all distractions and focused completely on God, It was freeing. I felt like no matter what I was doing I could do it because of my freedom in Christ. Whether it is chopping the most impossible log to chop, or even just trying to swim across a lake with one arm above my head the whole time. It doesn’t matter what limit was tested, it was always fairly easy to overcome, and when I would fully rely on God the tasks did even begin to challenge me. But I guess that is what the challenge really was, fully rely on God. During high school and really throughout my whole life I’ve played a lot of different sports. What’s one of the biggest things that all those sports taught me? Don’t give anything less than your all. Now I know that to most that just another phrase like “leave it all on the court” but it’s more than that. When trying to do something, give it your all; don’t chicken out halfway through it. Want an example? Too bad cause I’m going to give you one. In gymnastics (yes I WAS a gymnast) when trying to learn a new trick you would go over the form and proper way to perform this new trick, then when it came time, you had to just go for it. There is no going halfway and giving up. If someone gives up halfway through a backflip the end result just isn’t good. The most sure fire way to get hurt is to give up halfway through. So why do we do this in real life? We have such good intentions and are so pumped then halfway through we freak out a little and bail. This only ends up making it worse in the end. That’s why God I am pursuing you with reckless abandon! I will never again bail halfway through NEVER EVER AGAIN!
