With two days of battling the heat, humidity, and especially the wind, our USTA tennis team pulled out a win advancing us to the final play offs today. Ten teams narrowed down to two was sure to bring a nail biting experience!
As my partner and I drove to the courts today I couldn’t imagine a better day to play tennis. I had a good nights sleep, ate nutritious (well sort of) food, and was able to make it to church this morning nourishing my soul. The pastor specifically spoke about how Christ represents living water in our lives. When we drink of water to quench our thirst we will thirst again, but if we drink from the living water of having Christ in our lives, we will never spiritually thirst again. As I sat in church I thought how much water I have consumed over these last few days. We actually wheeled a cooler down on the court for ourselves to drink water during the matches. There was so much water it seemed as though we could stay out on the courts for weeks and not go thirsty.
Today was different. We had the same amount of water going into our final match (maybe more), yet little did we know we were in for a battle of the weekend. Anyone who plays tennis tends to sum up their opponents in the warm up. Who has the better serve, who has a weak back hand, etc? Today I underestimated our opponents and it cost us the match. We easily took the first few games and I was feeling mighty fine. Unfortunately the other team happened to be steadier then us and we found ourselves in a first set tie break and lost it. Needing to take the second set to have a chance to win we came out strong and took the second set 6-4. I would rather play a complete third set but the officials ruled to do third set tie breakers. We lost 10-8 in the third set tie break..
To non-tennis players many of these numbers don’t mean much but to us they mean a lot. The match was so close it could have gone either way at any point. Today it went in our opponents’ favor. Someone has to win and someone has to loose. I’m still not settled that the losers had to be us!!
After licking my wounds a bit I need to get back on the saddle and get myself ready for New Jersey Districts. I have the privilege of being on another team who won in their flight.
Surprisingly, today we drank all the water. We battled in the hot sun for over two hours. The icy cold drinks were gone, the ice had melted, and our hearts were heavy as we walked off the courts as the defeated team. I knew we lost to a weaker team and I also knew it would haunt me for days. That’s sports…winner takes it all and the looser must fall. I can eventually accept that but I’m thankful there are no losers amongst God’s children, only winners. Drinking from the material things of this world will not satisfy, leaving us thirstier with heavy hearts. Drinking from the spiritual living water of Jesus Christ, we will never thirst again, God promises us that.
“Jesus said unto her,” Whoever drinks of this waster will thirst again, but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life.” “ John 4:13-14
Blessings,
Debbie
