trojandad
08-26-2011, 07:29 PM
i posted this in 2003 under the same title (thread is closed now but still there) after finding out my youngest son did not have cancer...i read it every start of every season to remind me what a blessing that time was, and to remind me the football season is being relived by younger, but just as loved, young men...
On the eve of practice, and not knowing how to best wish all these guys safety and the best year possible, a friend shared this with me. He has never shared this sermon in the pulpit but has shared it with his high school boys every year in a breakfast he sponsors, and I'm blessed, with his permission, to share it with you with his anonymity:
Another football season, Lord. What should I share with these young men under my charge to best prepare them for the year ahead.
Maybe I should share of my experiences and knowledge of being a student athlete many years ago, and the way that I learned from the mistakes I made in not leaving everything I had on the field, in not practicing as hard as I played and in not sacrificing myself for the team's greater cause.
Maybe I should share of my experiences and knowledge of being a young adult, a young man having independence ahead of me and, looking back on my playing days, learned from the mistakes I made in not appreciating the opportunity that I had in competing in such a loved sport without the worries of having to make a living weighting me down, in not watching the verbal abuse I gave other athletes during those playing days only to have those other athletes now disrespect me as a young man and in not working as hard as I could on that field in order to get a free ride to a further education rather than having to work for tuition as I'm having to do.
But Lord, maybe I should share of my experiences and knowledge of being an older man with children of my own competing, a man with experiences of years of toil, tears and joy and, looking back on my playing days, learned from the mistakes I made in not playing with the intensity of knowing that I would have to share my experiences with my son someday, both good experiences as well as the ones I'm not proud of, in not being able to tell my son that I praised the opponent of the hard hit on me but rather had to admit of my profanity to him and in wishing so much I had worked harder in training to avoid injuries so that I could now convince my own son to prepare himself better.
As I search your Word, dear Lord, I see you laid all these lessons out for us. I see where your Son prepared Himself in your teachings before He came to the playing field of this world, that He worked out in Your Word constantly while He was here, that when pain came to Him there were no words from His mouth that He regretted afterward and, once He came to Your Right Hand, He looked back with zero regrets on how He dealt with this playing field.
So, as every year, Lord, you simplify what to tell these wonderful young men, these vessels with so much life and strength ahead of them -----
"Men, seek Him, draw close to Him and, when in doubt of what to do on any field of life, seek Him more and draw even closer".
Bless all you guys on the year coming. Stay strong in every way possible.
On the eve of practice, and not knowing how to best wish all these guys safety and the best year possible, a friend shared this with me. He has never shared this sermon in the pulpit but has shared it with his high school boys every year in a breakfast he sponsors, and I'm blessed, with his permission, to share it with you with his anonymity:
Another football season, Lord. What should I share with these young men under my charge to best prepare them for the year ahead.
Maybe I should share of my experiences and knowledge of being a student athlete many years ago, and the way that I learned from the mistakes I made in not leaving everything I had on the field, in not practicing as hard as I played and in not sacrificing myself for the team's greater cause.
Maybe I should share of my experiences and knowledge of being a young adult, a young man having independence ahead of me and, looking back on my playing days, learned from the mistakes I made in not appreciating the opportunity that I had in competing in such a loved sport without the worries of having to make a living weighting me down, in not watching the verbal abuse I gave other athletes during those playing days only to have those other athletes now disrespect me as a young man and in not working as hard as I could on that field in order to get a free ride to a further education rather than having to work for tuition as I'm having to do.
But Lord, maybe I should share of my experiences and knowledge of being an older man with children of my own competing, a man with experiences of years of toil, tears and joy and, looking back on my playing days, learned from the mistakes I made in not playing with the intensity of knowing that I would have to share my experiences with my son someday, both good experiences as well as the ones I'm not proud of, in not being able to tell my son that I praised the opponent of the hard hit on me but rather had to admit of my profanity to him and in wishing so much I had worked harder in training to avoid injuries so that I could now convince my own son to prepare himself better.
As I search your Word, dear Lord, I see you laid all these lessons out for us. I see where your Son prepared Himself in your teachings before He came to the playing field of this world, that He worked out in Your Word constantly while He was here, that when pain came to Him there were no words from His mouth that He regretted afterward and, once He came to Your Right Hand, He looked back with zero regrets on how He dealt with this playing field.
So, as every year, Lord, you simplify what to tell these wonderful young men, these vessels with so much life and strength ahead of them -----
"Men, seek Him, draw close to Him and, when in doubt of what to do on any field of life, seek Him more and draw even closer".
Bless all you guys on the year coming. Stay strong in every way possible.