What College Athletics Taught Me About the Spiritual Life
I wasn’t walking closely with the Lord when choosing a college. I wanted a small school that had my major and allowed me to play sports. And that’s exactly what I found. But it wasn’t until after my freshman year of college that I had a simple, yet profound encounter with the Lord that changed my life.
The four years of school that followed began a journey of rediscovering the sports I had played all my life. It was almost as if sports weren’t contradictory to the Gospel, but a way to activate it.
As a two-sport college athlete, I was able to live out the Church’s universal call to holiness and mission. When I explained this call to younger kids I served, I would often refer to this as the call to “grow and go”. Despite not having any mentors during my years of college to explain this to me, my simple commitments to the Lord allowed me insight into how He had handcrafted athletics as a means to do just that: grow and go.
To Grow in "Holiness"
Athletes love to grow. I found so much enjoyment in knowing my hard work spent in practice was paying off in games. While I spent a lot of time focusing on growing through lifting, hitting line drives on the field, or covering more ground on the court, the Lord was growing me in discipline, time management, and perseverance.
I was forming daily habits of lifts while I also learned daily habits in prayer.
I was learning more about what worship really is by offering Him the sacrifice of my body when I just didn’t feel like it.
I was practicing what it meant to “pray unceasingly” when I would pray before each at bat or before each serve.
I was understanding what it meant to rely on the Lord when I got to the last inning of my third game in three days and my arm just couldn’t make the throw anymore.
I was experiencing friendship with the Lord when He comforted me after a loss.
I was growing in holiness by simply living out the call the Lord had given me during my years of college.
To Go in "Mission"
Athletes also love to go. I felt most purposeful on days where I had to run from a lift to class, from one practice to another, from a game to a ministry event. While I spent a lot of time living an incredibly active, adventurous life on the softball field or volleyball court, the Lord was showing me that a life with Him could be active and adventurous too.
I was living out mission by asking the Lord which teammate I should talk to on my way to practice.
I was learning to offer up my practices and conditioning as times of intercession for my family and my team.
I was understanding how easy it was to talk about Jesus with an umpire or an opposing coach simply by telling them about the Bible verse on my bow or the medals on my chain.
I was finding joy in being open about my faith every time my favorite worship song would play as I walked up.
I was feeling freedom in starting conversations about Jesus with my teammate, knowing no matter what they thought, we could still unite on the sport we loved.
I was learning to live a life on mission simply by living my life.
It's almost as if holiness and mission aren’t supposed to be separated from the things that bring me life. It’s almost as if holiness and mission are the path that bring me life.
And I believe it was the virtue and discipline and drive the Lord formed in me through athletics that gave me the ability to receive deeper healing in the realm of sexual sin.
Learning not to define myself by my past came from learning not to define myself by a strikeout.
Understanding how to set boundaries from triggers came from understanding how to be disciplined in my conditioning.
Enduring moments of relapse when I wanted to give up came from enduring long days of several games in the heat.
Choosing to fight for my freedom came from choosing to fight for my team.
To my fellow athletes out there, invite the Lord into your sport. He wants to show you the fullness of life there. Let it begin in your sport and follow you the rest of your life. He truly works all things for your good.