Love 'Em!

This series that we are in called "the Dip" brought some memories back from when I was a high school tennis player....

One of my tennis coaches had a peculiar way of getting me to deal with lobs well. A lob in tennis is when your opponent hits the ball high in the air when you are up at the net trying to hit the ball over your head. In order to hit these lobs back you have back up and position yourself to slam it back....the payback for not hitting the lob deep enough. The thing is, it is easy to psych yourself out because you know you're supposed to be able to slam it back but it is soooo easy to choke on these shots. Well my tennis coach made me do the most embarrassing thing I have ever had to do on a tennis court...He made me scream "Love 'Em!" while the ball was in the air before I hit it back 'declaring' that I loved to hit that shot. While at first this was really embarassing since he not only made me yell this during private lessons and group lessons, but also during actual matches, later on shouting "Love 'em!" became automatic and part of my tennis routine. It changed how I thought about that shot, no longer was it an opportunity to choke, but rather a chance to shine.

Why did this come back to me during this series? Brandon talked yesterday about what to do while you are in the Dip. He told us that we are to Remember what God has done for us in the past, to Accept our current circumstances, and to Trust that God has things in control. Then he went on to explain the whole reason that we go through these 'dip cycles': so that we may go on toward maturity in Christ. In fact we are to rejoice in our trials and sufferings because we know that we are moving on to a closer relationship with God.

My tennis coach changed my way of thinking about a difficult circumstance: he had me speak out that I was rejoicing even before it was true. That even though my heart may not yet believe and my eyes may not see how any of this is going to be a good thing later, my will can be set to rejoice until the rest of my emotions and circumstances catch up. We need to make it our default setting that we rejoice in our trials and circumstances so much so that it is an automatic part of daily routine. But my tennis coach knew the key to something becoming automatic: we can never let one opportunity to rejoice slip by no matter how big or small, no matter how insignificant, or how embarrassing. We have to rejoice in the paper cut, and the broken leg, the lost $5 bill, and the loss of our household income. If we never let one struggle or disappointment pass us by without praising God for who he is, then when we really need for our rejoicing to be almost automatic, it will be.

Remember in your trials, that they are not simply an opportunity for God to fail you, but an chance for God's goodness and glory to shine through you when He moves you out of your Dip!

~Laura