Stay Positive

After a tough loss on Sunday, I really didn’t feel like being very positive. It took me awhile to get out of the locker room because I didn’t want to talk to anybody, let alone face people who would inevitably ask that question, “Did you win?” I shut myself up in my room and didn’t move for a few hours, feeling like not only was I a failure, but also the whole day was as well.

Later I realized I still had a Huddle to lead that night, and I had no idea what we were going to talk about. After some prayer and petition I realized that God was saying, “What about that song I stuck in your head as soon as they scored that last goal?” I was like, “Oh, you mean the one I tried to ignore and get out of my thoughts?” God seemed to reply, “Yeah, that one.”

That song was “We Live” by Superchic[k], and it was just what the doctor ordered. The chorus goes like this:

“We live we love.
We forgive and never give up.
Cuz the days we are given are gifts from above.
And today we remember to live and to love.”

 What a powerful statement that was for me! Every day is a gift. And how many times do we wish them away? How many moments do we let slip by? Like the song says, “What would it take for the clouds to break, for us to realize each day is a gift somehow, someway?”

That night, our Huddle challenged each other to not complain for the rest of the week and to focus on encouraging instead. Well, I didn’t feel well that night, or Monday, or Tuesday. Monday we didn’t have practice, so it was fine if I didn’t eat very much. Tuesday was different. Tuesday we were scheduled to test 300-yard shuttles, so I made myself eat before class. The morning went on, and I felt worse. I didn’t have lunch. Eight hours after that bowl of cereal, I was out on the field mentally repeating: “Don’t complain. Don’t complain.” And I was making sure to say something encouraging between reps. I ran the fastest 300-yard shuttles of my life and dropped my average by three seconds! 

How amazing is our God? If we allow Him to change our mind-sets, great things will happen. Even on days that seem the worst.