Kingdom Harbor

I recently discovered a new trail system for my morning walks. Having lived in the same place now for 45 years, this is no small feat. As a turned the corner in the deep woods, up ahead running toward me at a brisk pace was my old high school cross country and basketball coach.

“Good morning, Coach!” I said to the blur.

“Beautiful morning for some prayer or meditation,” the blur said back as he quickly vanished into the woods.

Coach is ageless. He’s now retired from teaching but still coaching the cross country team. He must be about 60, but looks (and appears to run) the same as he did in his 20s. Maybe 5′-7″ and 125 lbs.

I get to see more of him this fall as my 7th grade son, Peter, has joined the cross country team, following in his dad’s steps. Yes, it will come as a surprise to my in-laws that I was an exceptional runner, running 5:20 miles and earning All Conference Honorable Mention my senior year. I married into a family of runners, and while they continue to run (my 70 year old father-in-law ran a half marathon this weekend!), I unfortunately never have found running at all enjoyable. So I walk…like Jesus. ;)

As I continued my Monday morning walk, a bit melancholy reflecting on the passage of time, I felt weighed down by mid-life doubts and what-ifs. No matter which paths I choose each day, I can’t seem to escape or outrun nagging negative thoughts and feelings. I continue my struggle to detach my vocational happiness and satisfaction from the “results”, and instead keep being faithful in showing up and offering my gift and presence in service of King Jesus. My goal: to be a happy sower of Kingdom seed and leave the results to God.

As I exited the trail and walked toward my car, I encountered coach again in the parking lot hydrating and most likely preparing for his second run of the morning. :) Again, our conversation lasted about 60 seconds, but every second was a gift. Curious where my mind was on my morning walk (he did teach psychology for 30 years), he asked, “All prayed up? Get some inspiration for your next sermon?”

Hinting at my more brooding, depressive state, I quipped half-jokingly, half-truthfully: “Just reflecting on my mortality and working through a mid-life crisis.” Suddenly, Coach and I were 25 years younger, and he was encouraging that lanky 16 year old 3-point shooter once again. He reached into his well-worn bag of coaching wisdom and bottomless bucket of encouragement, and yelled across the parking lot, “Nothing you can’t handle, Big Man.”

I opened my car door and looked back at him, and then he said exactly what I needed to hear today: “As long as you’re open, keep shooting, Berg! Keep shootin’.” And with that, he disappeared into the woods.

I drove away pondering his words and realized that he was telling me in basketball lingo exactly what the Holy Spirit has been whispering to me in biblical language: Keep shooting the ball as long as you are open. Keep sowing for the kingdom as long as you have opportunities. Basketball shooters gotta keep shooting, and preachers gotta keep preaching the good news.

Coaches often speak in worn out cliches and hokey positivity, but still their words are often laced with the truth. We all need a couple Ted Lassos in our lives. “You miss 100% of the shots you never take,” is one such cliche. The best outside shooters like Steph Curry never let results influence whether or not they take the next shot; they know they are good and believe every open shot is worth taking. If they have an off-night, a wise coach need only say, “As long as you are open, keep shooting!” And soon they’re back on, leading the team to victory.

I’m in a season of running fresh screen routes to get more open shots in ministry. My job is to take the shot and not dwell on the result. For example, last week I secured an open shot at speaking to the Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA) at my high school next month. I’ll get to share my faith testimony and hopefully inspire other student athletes to be bold representatives of Christ among their peers.

Yes, we miss 100% of the shots we don’t take to share Christ’s love with others day in and day out. I’m going to take Coach’s words to heart and keep shooting whenever and wherever God gives me an open shot. And leave the results to God.

Thanks, Coach!

REFLECT:

How about you? Is there an area of your life where you need to just keep shooting? Keep showing up and not quit even though you don’t see instant results? What area of life (e.g., parenting, job, faith, etc.) do you need to work on surrendering the results to God?

“I consider my life worth nothing to me; my only aim is to run the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me—the task of testifying to the good news of God’s grace” (Acts 20:24).