In week five of my Independent Learning Project, I planned on reflecting and implementing ways that I can directly apply my faith into my wrestling!
The three largest areas that I wanted to look at are prayer, fellowship, and commitment! I am aiming to contemplate on the aspects that I am doing well in, the areas that need improvement, and tangible efforts towards becoming a more Christ-centered athlete!
In the first area, I wanted to dive into my prayer life. On a typical day, I only seem to pray when things get tough, when I need something, or when I am grateful for something.
The Bible instructs us to pray unceasingly, not just when we feel like it! Praying unceasingly and having constant communication with my Lord is pivotal to me! Giving thanks, rejoicing, asking God questions, presenting my requests, and even taking it to Him when things don’t go the way I think they should are all specific examples of prayer that I like to instill on a daily basis! (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18)
To narrow it down into my wrestling, I usually do a good job of praying before practice and competitions, when it gets tough and I need His mighty power, and after practice and competitions, thanking Him for one more opportunity to take part in this sport. What I need to improve upon is praying during my practices and competitions and just reminding myself of the ultimate reason why I am scrapping on the mat that day.
In my opinion, prayer is essential. Constantly implementing it on a day-to-day basis is something I am working towards!
My second area of choice falls into the fellowship column. I was placed on the Chadron State Wrestling team for a divine purpose, astronomical intention, and eternal significance!
Ultimately, my number one goal should be to reflect Christ in the way that I live, the way that I love, and the way that I wrestle! Lies about striving only for personal success creep in oftentimes, but God always finds a way of reminding me of what my true purpose should be!
Seeking Godly fellowship with my teammates and my coaches should be a priority! Some days are better than others, however, as a whole, I would say that my relationships tend to have a Biblical basis!
Speaking life, encouragement, building up, proclaiming truth, serving the team first, sharing the Gospel, displaying acts of love and kindness, living by example, not being judgmental, remaining humble, refraining from indecent speech, working wholeheartedly, relating with others, getting along, being stubbornly positive, portraying delusional optimism, and displaying passion, intensity, energy, and fervency are all specific examples of ways that I attempt to bring spirituality into the Eagle Wrestling team (Romans 12:18/Hebrews 12:14)! It proves to be a difficult task at times, but, all in all, I love each of my teammates, my coaches, and attempt to portray it!
Lastly, something that I am working towards is committing my whole sport and being to my Father in Heaven (Colossians 3:23)! With this month of February, the wrestling season is starting to come to a close. Lately, I have been working my hardest to maximize my potential all while committing it to the Lord’s good, pleasing, and perfect will!
I am viewing these last weeks as a sprint in the name of my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ! I need not to do this for myself, my family, my teammates, my coaches, the fans, the college, the community, or anyone else. I am committed to glorifying my Father in Heaven in all that I do!
For these reasons, I am honing in on improving my prayer life, fellowship with others, and committing it all to God! This week has been a tough one, but good for my faith overall. I am looking forward to incorporating these specific examples on the mat and in everyday life!
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