Cross Country 2021 by Autumn

Hello,

This past semester I had the opportunity to run on a homeschool cross country team. Since the only sport I had ever played competitively before was tennis, I was a little nervous going into it. 

You see, my previous experience with tennis left me with some lessons. I had a lot of fun in the sport. But, when I look back, I see that the many years I invested in tennis did not bear much fruit. I spent a huge amount of time training when I could have been doing more meaningful things, and a lot of money that could have gone to help others elsewhere. In addition, the relationships with my coaches and peers were not really bringing me any closer to God. Instead of being urged to compete for God's glory, my tennis classes were mostly focused on becoming the best. In addition, as a lot of my friends grew older, they tended to group into cliques based on their school or skill set. Still, though, I remember being disappointed when lack of resources made me quit doing tennis competitively for a time. However, as time went on, God showed me that he had better plans for me. So, when the chance came for me to go all in again, I decided not to.

Part of the fruit that grew from quitting tennis was true friendships that wouldn't have been possible with the amount of time I was spending on tennis. Out of these friendships, the opportunity arose to join a Christian homeschool cross country team. I joined the team not quite knowing what to expect, but hoping my experience would be different than it was for tennis. At the first practice, everyone was so welcoming that it really didn't feel awkward at all, even though I was the only one who hadn't run with Chargers before. What really impressed me was how we tried to make God and ministry our first priority. 

My coach was the Missouri State Champion for cross country. Yet, instead of pushing us to make our team number one, she pushed us the entire season to run with the Glory of God as our biggest goal. She ultimately didn't care about the outcome of our races as long as we were running for the Lord and encouraging everyone. Coach always told us that ministry came first for our team. She modeled that to us on one occasion when, right as we finished our race, she called us to circle up and pray for a Charger's family member who was in dire shape due to covid 19. The whole season long as this person struggled, we prayed for a miracle. I'm glad to say that this person is very much on the road to recovery now.

This last semester showed me that it is possible to have fun and enjoy a sport, while still making God your priority. I was able to bond with like-minded Christian homeschoolers who helped me grow as an individual. In addition, I was able to persevere in doing something hard, while getting my body into shape.  

I do, however, have to reflect and wonder if I should be putting that much of my time and resources into sports, even if it was extremely life-giving for me. As you have probably seen, if you have been reading this blog for a while, the Great Commission is very important to me and the rest of my family. We discerned that, when Jesus said, "Go and make disciples of all nations," our family was being called to focus on other countries besides the U.S. Sadly, we have been prevented from joining foreign missions for the past two years. But, I think that when discerning any activities, outings, sports, etc, we have to still focus on that call. 

Helping the poor in other countries is super important, and I definitely feel strongly about doing so. But, I also see that the poorest of the poor are the unborn babies who don't even get a chance at life. And I also know that my mission begins in my own home. 

How does this relate to cross country? Well, ask yourself this question: "Do I recognize my missionary call?" If you answered "Yes!" then ask yourself this, "Am I using the vast majority of my time and resources to support that missionary call?" We all have to discern this for ourselves. At this time, honestly, I have to answer "No" to this last question. So, I really need to spend time in prayer asking, "Should I be putting this much time and resources into a sport instead of focusing on more urgent needs?" 

Thanks for reading folks,

Autumn