Lesson from Fox

I am so glad you stopped by! I have been missing you and writing and sharing and I am glad to be back. Last Sunday we wrapped up tennis season by heading to the state playoff tournament in Decatur, AL. Both the girls and boys teams qualified to go which meant all my children would be there participating. As we traveled, it rained on us off and on reminding us of the deadly tornadoes that surrounded us at the same tournament last year. Thankfully the rain brought only cold temperatures and 20-30 mile hour winds. However, if you play tennis you know 20 mile hr winds are not optimal weather for tournaments, but they far out weigh tornadoes. Our last match of the day was about 9:00 pm. As you can imagine, it had been a long day and we were very cold and very tired! By this time the activity at the complex was winding down. While teams were heading back to hotels, my son, Fox, was just going on the court. I sat with the team on the bleachers next to Fox's court shivering and hoping for a quick win! As the boys warmed up on the court, it was pretty obvious that Fox had his work cut out for him. His opponent was strong! He had beautiful strokes and an awesome one handed backhand. All of us in the bleachers were catching eyes with each other and silently communicating that this guy was amazing and Fox was probably going down. In spite of our cheers of encouragement, Fox lost the first set in about 20 minutes 6-0.

I am not even kidding, his opponent had not even taken his jacket off. However, as he handed the balls to Fox to serve, something changed. Fox's shoulders went back, his eyes seemed to really focus and he disappeared int this other world. Twenty minutes later Fox had won the second set 6-1! We were all speechless. The eyes in the bleachers were now communicating sheer unbelief! I was no longer thinking about that hot shower and yummy bed, but wondering who was that boy and what was he thinking and could he hold on to win the third set? The boys did not break between sets but continued to play. Honestly, before I knew it, the boys were switching sides and Fox was up 3-0. His opponent actually took his jacket off at this point. I was shivering that uncontrollable shiver, whether it was from cold or nerves I have no idea. Fox carefully dictated every point, moving this other boy from side to side and hitting every angle perfectly. At 5-0 the other boy began to play with wild abandonment as though he had nothing to lose  and gained 3 games. Fox was steady and patient and never lost his focus and won the third set and match 6-3.

It was an awesome site to watch Fox decide to win that match in spite of the odds that were so obviously stacked against him. I've thought a lot about that match this week. Fox was prepared for that match. He had done his homework. He had practiced, he had played, he had worked out, he was ready. His opponent was big, but when Fox chose to focus on the ball and not his opponent he was able to play his game and take control of the match. It is so easy to lose site of the ball and focus on the opponent. But when we fix our eyes on Christ we win. Like Peter walking on water. When he kept his eyes on Jesus he was walking on water. The minute he took his eyes off Jesus and looked at everything around him, he became distracted and lost faith. "Turn your eyes upon Jesus. Look full in His wonderful face. And the things of this earth will grow strangely dim, in the light of His glory and grace!" Love love love Ruthie