continuing on in the testimony saga.
the beauty of a dunk like this is that to get to the rim you have to rise above the competition. it shows true athleticism - there is no simple cherry-picking or breakaways going on here...just straight ups.
my dad is a high school english teacher and has been a long time varsity basketball coach as well. he has the gift of inspiration and that gift is perfectly brought out in the classroom or on the basketball court. he can put words together like no one i have ever met and leave you questioning everything you have ever thought to be true. his classrooms are always littered with posters:
No man is an island....Muhammad Ali knocking people out...Two roads diverge and I, I take the one less traveled by.
you get the idea.
the one i remember the most though is a dunk similar to the one above, but one man rising above the rest in a simple back ally pick-up, streetball game. no fame, no glory...just one man rising above the rest to the rim. a simple phrase attached:
"Don't settle for mediocrity, rise to new heights."
the idea of mediocrity has plagued me all my life. convincing myself that i am not good enough, that i don't do enough, that i am not enough. i was never told those lies, but somewhere between middle school and college my faith in God and who i was by His name was lost amongst the lies of high school. i felt i wasn't pretty enough, i wasn't smart enough, i wasn't funny enough, i wasn't fit enough or good enough at sports. injuries, alcohol, 3.5's and breakups only reaffirmed those things in my mind.
most of the reason i wanted to become a Younglife leader in college was because, being the oldest sibling, i wanted someone to look up to. i sought out strong, beautiful, committed young women of God and prayed that i could be more like them. the idea of being a graceful, godly women has constantly pulled me back to God. in my own leaders i saw that look of purpose and i desired it for my own life. for the past 4 years i have wrestled with how best to show those girls that there is more. that they are beautiful, loved and desired. that the world's is not the standards we need to reach. i realized how detrimental my desires to be cool and beautiful hurt the person i truly wanted to be known as and if i can help even one girl see that today, then my time is well spent.
since high school, i still struggle daily with being adequate. my love language is affirmation. i love being told i have done well, that i am on the right track. that my life is glowing with God. and who better to hear those words from than God?
"you have done well my good and faithful servant." -matthew 25:21*
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