Well, holy cow.
I write this as an assistant coach of a 3-1 team. We have won three games straight and look to continue that this week as we go into Ravenwood.
It’s crazy to look back at that week one loss and look at where we are now. This past Friday we beat Brentwood 41-7, and our offense is finally gelling. People are buying into what we can do, and we are in great position going into our off week.
We are winning.
I was thinking about the word “win” the past few days, and what it means to “win.” Winning on the field is great, but when we only spend three hours during a game, how do we win the other 21 hours during the day, off the field?
The unfortunate thing about life is that it is going to hand us losses like that week one loss against Centennial. You think you have everything figured out, and then, just like that, it’s gone. You can drive yourself crazy trying to figure out how or why it happened, but it did.
But you know what? It’s okay to walk around and know that you lost. It really is.
Sometimes a “win” doesn’t have to be some victorious ride in the sunset. Sometimes a win may not actually be a “win.” Many times a win is waking up in the morning and just doing your job. You don’t have to be okay with your circumstances, but as long as those circumstances don’t affect your day-to-day schedule, you’ve won.
I know that I have not been okay with my circumstances as of late. I have been mad at God about things. I have been very pessimistic. I rushed things. I have let that affect my day to the degree where I spend all day complaining rather than getting better.
If we spent our week after that loss complaining about Centennial, we would have never gone into Riverdale and won.
I try to remind myself of this daily. I feel like I am continuously questioning what God is doing in my life. I feel like I am allowing outside, worldly circumstances to continuously bring me down.
And you know what? I am. I am allowing that.
I have learned in the past few months that it’s okay to not be okay. It’s wonderful actually. Bob Goff says, “Failure is just part of the process, and it’s not just okay; it’s better than okay. God doesn’t want failure to shut us down. God didn’t make it a three-strikes-and-you’re-out sort of thing. It’s more about how God helps us dust ourselves off so we can swing for the fences again. And all of this without keeping a meticulous record of our screw-ups.”
I am ecstatic that God isn’t keeping a record on my screw-ups, even though I am.
While I question the struggles in my personal and professional life, I know they are there to help me become better than who I could ever think I could become.
It’s hard. It’s challenging. But it will help me grow. No matter how mad or upset it may make me, I know it’s just one more thing that can help me become a better me.
Someone who can win.