Commitment is the key
Recently, I attended the meeting for coaches of the under 4 YMCA soccer league. Intimidated is probably not strong enough a word to use for the experience.
If you are unaware, I usually call soccer a "communist" sport in jest. I just don't understand it. I covered it for 8 seasons as a sports writer and to this day, I simply don't understand some of the rules and nuances of the game.
So why was I at this meeting? I signed up to be a coach in case they needed a warm body who could handle kids. Guess what? They did. I am now the warm body coaching my daughter's soccer team. I thought it would be easy: a game a week, a practice and some quality time with my daughter. They'd provide everything else.
Not exactly.
Try two games a week plus a practice. Plus refereeing and coaching the games. Plus organizing the parents. Plus teaching the basics of soccer. Immediately I felt over my head. This is not what I signed up for.
I waited through the meeting, trying to process the information as my brain went into panic mode. After the meeting, I pulled aside the program director for a little chat. "I'm not sure I can do this," I told him. "I don't know anything about soccer. I mean it. I don't know anything about soccer. And my schedule is loaded. I have youth ministry responsibilities. I'm attending seminary. I have ball games to attend, camps and mission trips to plan, and family obligations. I'm not sure I can do this."
The program director simply looked at me and said in a calm voice that they would help me however they could. It would be a significant time commitment, but it would be rewarding. Oh, and they were already short 15 coaches now.
I walked away downtrodden. I didn't want to hurt the YMCA or the kids. They needed a coach. My daughter did. I thought about it for a night and remembered that I made a commitment to coach soccer for the spring. So it didn't turn out the way I had intended - things rarely do. So, last Sunday, I began calling parents and setting up practices. I hope I can do an adequate job.
Why do I share this personal story? I do it to illustrate what a commitment looks like. So many times we toss away our commitments. We give a range of excuses. "It's tougher than I thought." "It's not what I was expecting." "It was a rash statement." "I didn't really mean it."
Sadly, too often today, we back out of our commitments, thus making them meaningless. Marriage is one of those commitments. I'm not making light of marriage. I know it's tough. I also know sometimes it's irreparable. But I want us to know that marriage is not about love. It's not about convenience or happiness or romance like the media portrays it. No marriage is about one thing - commitment.
Marriage is committing to one person "til death do you part." It's committing to them "in sickness and in health." It means things won't always be easy or pretty or healthy or happy, but I plan to stick with it anyway.
When we begin romantic relationships, we need to be committed to purity and good decisions and, most importantly, to our relationship with Christ. Our commitment to Him will mirror our commitment to our significant others.
Be committed before you get married. It might make a huge difference in your life and on others.
If you are unaware, I usually call soccer a "communist" sport in jest. I just don't understand it. I covered it for 8 seasons as a sports writer and to this day, I simply don't understand some of the rules and nuances of the game.
So why was I at this meeting? I signed up to be a coach in case they needed a warm body who could handle kids. Guess what? They did. I am now the warm body coaching my daughter's soccer team. I thought it would be easy: a game a week, a practice and some quality time with my daughter. They'd provide everything else.
Not exactly.
Try two games a week plus a practice. Plus refereeing and coaching the games. Plus organizing the parents. Plus teaching the basics of soccer. Immediately I felt over my head. This is not what I signed up for.
I waited through the meeting, trying to process the information as my brain went into panic mode. After the meeting, I pulled aside the program director for a little chat. "I'm not sure I can do this," I told him. "I don't know anything about soccer. I mean it. I don't know anything about soccer. And my schedule is loaded. I have youth ministry responsibilities. I'm attending seminary. I have ball games to attend, camps and mission trips to plan, and family obligations. I'm not sure I can do this."
The program director simply looked at me and said in a calm voice that they would help me however they could. It would be a significant time commitment, but it would be rewarding. Oh, and they were already short 15 coaches now.
I walked away downtrodden. I didn't want to hurt the YMCA or the kids. They needed a coach. My daughter did. I thought about it for a night and remembered that I made a commitment to coach soccer for the spring. So it didn't turn out the way I had intended - things rarely do. So, last Sunday, I began calling parents and setting up practices. I hope I can do an adequate job.
Why do I share this personal story? I do it to illustrate what a commitment looks like. So many times we toss away our commitments. We give a range of excuses. "It's tougher than I thought." "It's not what I was expecting." "It was a rash statement." "I didn't really mean it."
Sadly, too often today, we back out of our commitments, thus making them meaningless. Marriage is one of those commitments. I'm not making light of marriage. I know it's tough. I also know sometimes it's irreparable. But I want us to know that marriage is not about love. It's not about convenience or happiness or romance like the media portrays it. No marriage is about one thing - commitment.
Marriage is committing to one person "til death do you part." It's committing to them "in sickness and in health." It means things won't always be easy or pretty or healthy or happy, but I plan to stick with it anyway.
When we begin romantic relationships, we need to be committed to purity and good decisions and, most importantly, to our relationship with Christ. Our commitment to Him will mirror our commitment to our significant others.
Be committed before you get married. It might make a huge difference in your life and on others.
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