Friday, September 21, 2018

The Hard Work of New


THE HARD WORK OF NEW
Coach Alan at work


This summer Macy decided she wanted to play softball in high school.  As a 14 year old freshman, she had never swung anything but a whiffle ball bat.  At the tryouts a woman said to her, “You are kind of old to be getting started, aren’t you?  Can you even throw?”  
Macy wanted to leave, but went through with the tryouts. We are full of admiration for her bravery and willingness to step into something so new that she has to learn how to do everything!
God gave her Coach Alan, who has been very encouraging, telling her not to worry about being behind, telling her making players better, “is what I do.”  He has kindly spent significant time with her, meticulously adjusting her throwing motion, her swing, how she moves her feet…everything.  Macy is having to pay attention to everything she does.  It feels awkward because it is all new, but she is learning.  With multiple practices and two games under her belt, she is improving every day with the skills her Coach is helping her learn.


RELENTLESS ATTENTION

When I was made aware of some areas in my life that needed to change, I also met with a coach to help me.  I found that changing my natural inclinations and behavior was hard!  It took relentless attention on what I was doing to make the changes.  Just like learning a new skill, I had to move slowly and intentionally with the new behavior I wanted to master.
As I’m coaching other leaders at Cru in areas that are hindering them, I let them know that it will mean they have to work hard at making changes to what feels natural to them.  Everyone has to go through the awkward stage before the changes feel somewhat normal.  It takes bravery and effort.     
Thank you for investing in our lives and ministry with Cru. We can’t adequately express how much your partnership means to us, and allows us to invest our lives for the sake of the gospel.

With love and thanks,