Encouragement Can Transform!
Last week I received a text from one of my former players. It is one of those text that makes a coach believe what he or she is doing is worth it. Pat Smits was one of the hardest workers and best defenders I have coached, yet for 3 and 1/2 years of his career he struggled to reach the production he was capable of on offense. Why? Because he hated letting anyone down. He would apologize before he shot the ball in case he missed. He had put the work and time to become a very good perimeter shooter, but for most of his career he feared taking the chance of pushing the limits he had safely set for himself. God can do more.
Over the Holidays, I took my family to a couple action movies. The first one being Bumblebee. The Bible mentions transformation over and over. Paul to Saul, Jacob to Israel, just to mention a couple times. We are called to become a new or completely different person or player through God’s help. We are not called to be a better version of what we are now and run better. We are called to be a runner. I am talking caterpillar to butterfly transformation. Bumblebee is a good movie which shows the power of love and transformation. Pat’s testimony below shows the same.
Let me add one more detail on that. The other movie I watched with the family was Aquaman. The thing I saw in this movie that I want to add is that even after you become a Christian, you are called to continue to level up. Aquaman starts off with his mother’s trident or fork looking weapon. In a battle with his brother the trident is broken in half. Aquaman then searched and finds a better trident, he levels up and thus is able to overcome even greater foes. Same is true in your walk with Christ and with our athletes. We must teach, show and help them level up. All I did was show confidence and faith in Pat as you will read below, but the transformation that I saw was hard to believe. He choose to let God help transform. You can do the same.
This is the text I was blessed to receive from Pat.
I have an opportunity to speak to at a youth retreat for 7th-12th graders about fear of performance which I struggle with. Curious if you have verses you share with your teams that speak to this topic. Also want to say thank you for speaking confidence in Christ into me. And also just confidence, your sitting down with me after the Lubbock road game in 2005 and saying you had confidence in me and giving me a green light was a HUGE turning point for me and the battle of self doubt. It was a pivotal point in my story and I just want to say thank you. You sharpen me and I wouldn’t be as prepared to speak to these youth had that talk not happened. Love ya coach.
I asked Pat if he would expound on how he had boldly faced his fear and finished the race God had planned for him in a dead sprint all the way to the 2005 NAIA NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP! It is one of the most incredible accomplishments I have seen from a player. Defeating the giant of fear that had held him back for so long. Pat tapped into a source of strength and confidence that is not only available for him, but for you too!
I hope you enjoy his Testimony:
Have you ever asked yourself how did I get here? Or better yet, actually stopped to look in the rear-view to appreciate the journey that has brought you to this point? In the past few month’s God has opened avenues that have challenged me to do just that. As I have reflected, I have seen my journey as it unfolded. Similar to a long road trip there have been checkpoints and stops along the way . In hindsight, I can see that these checkpoints have shaped and honed me so that God may use me.
One area that I now see he was and continues to equip me for is Fear. You may be thinking, Fear? How does he equip one in the area of Fear? Well for me fear can manifest in a couple ways that often tie together. I often fear failure and battle self doubt. For a former collegiate basketball player that currently has a job in sales those aren’t attributes that lead to success. To put it in perspective a great basketball player misses half the shots they take. In sales, a great year may mean you win thirty percent of the time. For a guy with a fear of failure and self doubt these two environments should be crippling.
However, as Jeremiah 29:11 says, God knows the plans he has for me. As I look in the rear-view I can see that plan unfolding. He has placed people along my path to come along side and speak truth and provide encouragement in his perfect timing.
One moment and person that was pivotal for me came in my senior year of college. Our team was on a long road trip in Texas and had just lost a tough conference game. The next day after our practice and shoot around my assistant coach, Donnie Bostwick, pulled me aside. The words he spoke into me that day started to reshape how I viewed failure and attacked self doubt. Coach told me the team needed more scoring and that he believed I could provide it. They were going to insert me into the starting line up and give me the green light to let it fly. Coach was confident in me! It was a Proverbs 12:25 moment. “Anxiety weighs down the heart, but a kind word cheers it up.” (NIV)
To some those words may seem inconsequential, but to a kid that fears failure they were life changing. Before that talk, the first shot I took determined if I would play well or struggle. I prayed the first one would go in. If it didn’t those voices of self doubt would attack and my head would drop. God used coaches words to lift a heavy burden off my shoulders, a burden I couldn’t get rid of on my own. As crazy as it sounds, I had permission to fail and it showed on the court. In the next two games I scored 39 points and went 9/16 from deep. My attitude and perspective changed, I focused on making the next shot and quit worrying about the one I missed.
Now, many years and miles later in the journey, I can see how God used that moment to build a foundation. I have continued to battle through self doubt and fear of failure. Satan knows those are chinks in my armor and tries to exploit them daily. I battle questions of why did I not pursue coaching, why am I living in the Midwest, why am I working in software sales, why am I not working in an field I am passionate about? Each time those voices creep in God places the perfect person, song or verse in front of me to combat the attacks. I can see how he uses each attack to continue to sharpen and hone me in preparation for the work he has for me.
The journey has led me to today. As I mentioned earlier, God has presented me opportunities to speak about my struggles with self doubt and fear. Those opportunities have required reflection which has come in God’s perfect timing. Upon reflecting, I truly see how God has built on that day in Texas 13 years ago and how his plan has unfolded. When that self doubt and fear creeps in I can think What if….? I have had opportunities to chase a professional basketball career overseas. I have had opportunities to chase a career in coaching at both the collegiate and high school level. I have had opportunities to chase other sales jobs. I can think why did I not chase that “dream”. I realize now that if I had caught those opportunities, I would have missed out on the the growth and amazing role God has for me today.
God has me in the location, career and place that he wants me to be and it is Perfect! I am at a place in time where God has plugged me in and given me the opportunities to share the same good news he used my coach to share with me. I can see that God is using me to share about self doubt and fear with my church, the many youth basketball teams I am blessed to coach (yes, He granted me the opportunity to live the dream of coaching), my church’s youth group and my non-believing co-workers.
I am sharing with them about how we need to chase failure not fear it. How our King knows that we are not perfect and as such sent his perfect son to die for us. God gave my coach the words he knew I needed to hear. In a culture where anxiety, depression and fear are commonplace, I can see that God has equipped me to share my story and point others back to Him. As I have mentioned, I still battle everyday and in each engagement God continues to teach me. Through the lessons I have learned and continue to learn God is using me to plant seeds that he can sow.
I leave you with a challenge to take a look at your journey. Where does God have you? What has he equipped you with to pass on to others? Ask him how he can use you and then pursue it, Fearlessly.