Proverbs 2: 1-6
My son if you accept my words and store up my commands within you, turning your ear to wisdom and applying your heart to understanding, and if you call out for insight and cry aloud for understanding, and if you look for it as for silver and search for it as for a hidden treasure, then you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God. For the Lord gives wisdom and from his mouth come knowledge and understanding.
As we traveled 11 hours to Nashville, Tennessee this weekend just four days after traveling 9 hours to Little Rock, Arkansas I wondered why all of these players and coaches and parents do this weekend after weekend. I certainly did not have a great answer other than all of the kids have high goals and big dreams of winning state championships and playing college basketball.
As we now head home I soon realized that those are small reasons for why we all do this weekend after weekend. The ultimate joy in life is that God has given all of us the ability to learn each day. He allows us to fail in order for us to discover what he has planned for us. God allows true greatness to be discovered not by what we do when we succeed but what we do when we fail. Do we learn from those moments? Do we seek the wisdom and understanding that will allow us to learn from our failures, or do we turn away from learning and stumble again the next day? After this weekend, I believe the desire to learn and grow with the talents each of these young individuals have been given is the reason for all of this.
This weekend I coached a young man who stumbled and failed over and over as he started with the Attack program and after four years of a few highs and many lows it all began to come together this weekend. I saw a young man who for the past four years had wanted no part of contact, take the ball down the middle of the lane get knocked to the floor and knocked out of the game to only come back the next morning ready to play again with an absolute fearlessness.
I saw another young man, who I know had pondered quitting just a few weeks back, play significant minutes during the tournament and ultimately allowed us to change the momentum early in the semifinal game.
I saw seven 17U boys give up everything for one another to compete at the highest level and fall just short in the semifinals to a great team from Memphis. This was just one week after coming apart as a team in Little Rock, Arkansas.
I saw guys who had played on the B team for three or four years making big plays on the top team to win games this past weekend. I saw individuals from different backgrounds put aside all of their differences in order to learn together and grow together.
God has blessed all of us with unique talents. He has blessed all of us with unique circumstances. He has blessed all of us with positions in life where we can learn and grow. God has designed for all of us to have a great impact for his kingdom simply by how we learn and grow each day and how we handle those times when it seems hopeless. If we seek wisdom from the times we fail then there is no telling how our talents will be used on the basketball court and most importantly how they will be used for God’s greater purpose.
Go Attack,
Jake Sullivan
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