The Eggplant

“Though I have scattered them like seeds among the nations, still they will remember me in distant lands. With their children, they will survive and come home again to Israel.” Zechariah 10:9 (NLT)

The Eggplant

Happy 50th Birthday, Jocelyn!

I’ve decided to give you this little garden stake that my Aunt Carol and Uncle Frannie made several years ago when they were making craft items for local markets. As they no longer make these little gems, you may consider this a “Limited Edition” – just like you yourself are! The similarities are just beginning to emerge.

Did you know that the eggplant is one of the least widely appreciated vegetables in the Western World? – just like you, except you are not a vegetable! (see where the “similarities” thing is going?) Actually, the eggplant is a member of the Deadly Nightshade family and is closely related to the tomato, potato and the pepper. (Hello, “Bob the Tomato!!” – make the connection – hint: husband. This is eerie, isn’t it??)

The popularity of both the tomato and the eggplant was stifled until recently. The tomato was actually believed to be poisonous – but we all know now, that it is actually a cancer preventer! The eggplant, on the other hand, was believed by superstitious Europeans to induce insanity and had the unaffectionate nickname of “Mad Apple” until a few centuries ago. I know you see the similarity, as people are “crazy over you”. J

Anyway, back in its native region of southeast Asia, there was no superstition going on – they were just munching on the eggplants in advance of everyone else. From India and Pakistan it spread to China in about 500 B.C., then into the Middle East. Arabic records of eggplant exist from the 9th, 10th, and 12th centuries, and the Turks are believed to have over 1,000 native recipes calling for eggplant. It is very popular – just like you!

The Moors introduced the eggplant to Spain in the 4th through 7th centuries and by the 16th century, the Spaniards had classified the eggplant as a powerful aphrodisiac and its most affectionate nickname was “Apple of Love”. (Aha, now we are getting somewhere, aren’t we?) Well, unfortunately, the northern Europeans were still convinced that consuming eggplant would induce insanity. [You know those northern Europeans just love to beat an old horse to death!] But many wouldn’t listen to that nonsense and word got out about the tasty eggplant.

The English coined the name “eggplant” and then began referring to them as “Aubergine” [I think the snooty English linguists just liked the sound of Aubergine better, don’t you?] But it was the Spanish who introduced the delicious eggplant to the Americas (Brazil) around 1650. The United States, no doubt concerned about “mad eggplant disease”, would not let them in until 1806, when Thomas Jefferson finally opened up the border. However, it was grown primarily as an ornamental plant until about 50 years ago (notice the significant timing here – “50 years ago”), when its delicious flavour was finally acknowledged widely – just like you!

Meanwhile, on the other side of the world, a nursery man named John Baptist (come on, now – this is freaky) had obtained some eggplant seeds from a friend who had spent some time in India and introduced the veggie to Australia in 1850, though it did not become popular until the 1950s. So, even the eggplant is a “God thing” – just like you!

The eggplant comes in a wide array of shapes, sizes, and colours, which makes them an outstanding edible landscape plant. [You thought I was going to say, “just like you!” didn’t you?] So, the eggplant serves many purposes and is both decorative and delicious – just like you!

Jocelyn, I pray that throughout time, people find themselves “crazy in love with the eggplant” – just like me!

Love,
Kathy

Planting In Tears

This morning, I optimistically took a step toward getting into good physical condition once again by actually putting my workout clothes in the car. However, just as usual, I did not make it to any gym.

But I called Linda, my friend who works at Grant MacEwan's Wellness Centre, to see if I could try out the facility (this is only about the 10th time I've called her -- hey, I've been working up to this, you know!). However, she was on a well-deserved holiday to catch her breath before the hectic fall season begins.

I called Jocelyn, my friend who runs when her back feels good, and jokingly told her about my great big step forward this morning. But, when I hung up with her, it seemed not funny anymore. Well, not very funny that is.

I had such good intentions coming up here last year -- somehow my plan was to go to school full-time, volunteer at the church, get in massively good shape, practice the flute and piano, help organize a conference, participate in the Singing Christmas Tree, read, pray, journal, and develop a social life. And so I was quite exhilirated but tired, just thinking about these things!

As usual, the first thing to go was the objective to "get in massively good shape". What is it that is so hard about this one objective (not that I succeeded in all the others -- but I tried)? Anyway, the socializing and church activity resulted in a bit too much caloric intake and far too little output!

So, though I've tried this past year and failed, I am now trying again with an eye toward success. After I talked to Jocelyn earlier tonight, I assessed the workout room where I am housesitting right now and decided it was time to actually utilize it. And so we begin again. I decided to ease into it, put a CD on (Traveler -- funky world club music -- nice for dancing and working out!), and climbed on the treadmill.

Thirty minutes later I climbed down, having jogged 7 minutes out of the 30. I had worked up quite a sweat, so I decided that was enough cardio for day 1!

And then I stretched for another approximately 20 minutes -- gluts, quads, hams, calves (2 reps of 30 on each leg). Followed by just a wee bit of abs work on the exercise ball -- oh, memories of similar pains came back to me so easily!

Anyway, I wondered if this time I would stick with it and what would help me do so or enable me to do so.... habits are soooo hard to break, aren't they?

So, I sought inspiration in my bible, and found it in Psalm 126, verses 5 and 6: "Those who plant in tears will harvest with shouts of joy. They weep as they go to plant their seed, but they sing as they return with the harvest." The tears will be flowing as the pain of once again getting this body into working shape hits, but I know God will reward the work done on his gift to me -- my body.

What If?

"What if the Lord had not been on our
side?
Let all Israel repeat.
What if the Lord had not been on our
side
when people attacked us?
They would have swallowed us alive
in their burning anger.
The waters would have engulfed us;
a torrent would have overwhelmed us.
Yes, the raging waters of their fury
would have overwhelmed our very lives.
Praise the Lord,
who did not let their teeth tear us apart!
We escaped like a bird from a hunter's trap.
The trap is broken, and we are free!
Our help is from the Lord,
who made heaven and earth."
Psalm 124, New Living Translation

What If?

I don't know about you, but I play "what if?" games all the time. I make a decision, don't get the results I expect or want, and then ask "what if I had done something differently?" or "what if so-and-so would have just got on board?" or "what if I had never done it at all?" and so on and so on and so on.

My past is littered with "what ifs". What if I had completed my degree when all of my friends did instead of 20 years later? What if I had actually listened to advice I was given years ago about my finances? What if I had never smoked? What if I had focused more time developing relationships instead of expending my energy in work, work, working? What if I had really pursued the talents I had in music, in writing, etc., instead of pursuing what I thought would bring in the most money? What if I had spent my time living today instead of worrying endlessly about tomorrow?

These kinds of thoughts have eaten me up over the years. Literally, eaten me up. And my perspective rarely changed. That is, I always looked at myself as a negative outcome of these "what if" questions. In other words, my thoughts went something like this: "If I had completed my degree when all of my friends did, I would be better off today. If I had listened to advice about finances years ago, I would be better off today. If I had never smoked, I would be able to run better today. If I had focused more time developing relationships, I might actually have a family now." Etc. I'm sure you get the idea.

I was well beyond 40 years of age when it occurred to me that it was possible that my circumstances were actually better because of the "what ifs" . The thought process was: "If I had completed my degree when all of my friends did, I might have gone into the totally wrong field, been stuck in a different dead-end job and been unhappier. If I had listened to advice about finances years ago, I could have actually had an even worse situation! If I had never smoked, I might never have been able to relate to people who struggle to give it up as I did." Etc.

I think of some of the tough situations I've been in over the past couple of years, and am grateful to the Lord for being on my side. There were times people would have swallowed me alive, or my circumstances would have engulfed me completely. And tonight I thank the Lord for protecting me and for being there in all of my circumstances -- for soothing me, encouraging me, empowering me, etc. I know that things are not always as they seem. Life can throw some curve balls my way, but Jesus himself has caught them already. All I have to do is say "Thank You" and get up, dust off and move on.

What if I didn't know Jesus?

www.ccci.org/wij/

Revelation

So, our summer series on Revelation culminated tonight! Mike Voll gave an excellent presentation tonight that kind of wrapped everything up that we studied over the summer. The series was an exploration into the seven letters to the seven churches in the Revelation of Jesus Christ to John, and included books 1 through 5. Tonight was Revelation 4 and 5.

The night began with a listen to Johnny Cash read books 4 and 5. I never heard him speak so clearly and with such excellent enunciation. His voice was beautiful for reading.

These two books are fairly difficult for me. There is a lot of imagery to handle and to explore the meaning of. Mike did an excellent job of helping us see the meaning.

There are two distinct areas of my faith and life that were touched upon tonight. One area is the area of perspective or what I would call the intellectual me. In this area, I was reminded that "things are not as they seem." The meaning of things in my life is formed by my frame of reference. This can be very hard to remember. Also in this area, I was reminded that "the way to fullness is the way of the Lamb." The intellectual me knows these things and understands the perspective. The other me -- I guess you would say the fleshy me -- is having a hard time with these concepts. Note to self: Ask God for perspective in the flesh.

The other area is my image of God. Tonight he was called "eternally contemporary" and constant or unchanging. I love that. Around the throne -- EVERYTHING and EVERYONE is worshipping God. EVERYTHING. Beasts and all! And, He sits already victorious on the throne. He already suffered and conquered all -- sin, evil, temptation, Satan, death -- there is nothing He did not already suffer and conquer because of us, for us and instead of us. ALL I HAVE TO DO IS ACCEPT IT!

Paige

I was "exploring" online and ran across a fabulous illustrator -- Paige Pooler is her name. I get a very positive feeling from her drawings and writings and I marvel at how such positive energy comes through in her artwork. Awesome -- check out her blog -- link to the right. Enjoy!

Well, well, well

Why do I struggle so much? What is all this pent up energy? Why won't I just focus up instead of in?! Good grief!

"Lord, I pray again for a humble, grateful heart. I pray that I look to you before using the weapon in my mouth. I pray that I remember exactly how and why I came to be right where I am today, and be grateful for the opportunity to serve you and my church. Please forgive me, Lord, for my failures today. I pray for improvement tomorrow -- I don't see how that can't happen with your hand on my heart. In your name, I pray these things."

Sundays at 10am

Today's sermon was about humility. An elusive quality or characteristic or value indeed. But one to be valued above all others, in my view anyway. Why? I believe that when you are in a mostly constant state of humility (I say mostly, because who among us is perfect), then you are as close to "free" as you can get in this earthly life. I have a great desire to be free.

There are seven ways for me to humble myself:

I will choose to serve others.
I think that even when I do this, I need to choose to serve others HAPPILY.

I will take wrong patiently.
I really do need work in this area. I lack patience.

I will receive gifts, correction, and praise from others graciously.
Viewing these things as from God and for God is the best way to go.

I will purpose to speak well of others.
If I can't say something good about someone, I won't say anything.

I will associate with people who are not like me.
I need to find an avenue to do this.

I will cast my cares and confess my sin to God.
It is embarrassing to say that I have not been good about this. I find that living in a house
with people all around is very restrictive to my prayer life. I like to pray aloud and it is hard
in this world to find a place to be ALONE and private with the Lord. Even working at a
church, it is just hard to find that space where you KNOW you won't be interrupted. I do
what I can in my head, but it is not the same as conversing with God aloud -- for me anyway.
There is nothing like having a conversation with God out loud.

I will cultivate a grateful heart.
It amazes me when I am not grateful. I mean really grateful, not just "Oh thank you Lord"
during worship. I mean really grateful. Not just "Oh Lord, I am so thankful to have fresh
water, food, etc." These are all great, but I mean really grateful. When was the last time
someone chose to die for me? Despite my problems, issues, faults, and sins. It amazes me
how I allow other "stuff" to override this gift so very often. I want a grateful heart.

Thanks to Pastor Bob for a great sermon at Central. One of many.

"Lord, I pray to you tonight to work on my heart this week. I pray that I have a happier heart towards serving others, and that that is evidenced by less "wittiness" or sarcasm that isn't always funny or appropriate. I pray that my desire is evidenced by a greater willingness to sacrifice my own objectives for the greater objectives around me. Please, Lord, help me take whatever wrongs (or perceived wrongs) come my way and look to you before responding or reacting. I pray that I am able to receive whatever comes my way, corrections or praise, with the graciousness that only you can provide. I pray that my tongue be guarded this week, but even more importantly, that I consider you and your example before using it at all. I pray for your insight and wisdom into associating with people not like me. I pray to be reminded often of how grateful I should be. And, Lord, help me find a place to be with you alone -- I miss our conversations."

As The Wind Blows

I chose the title based on the first verse of Scripture I every memorized from Psalm 103. And then, I chose it because it sounds like a good title.

It has been an interesting week. I started a bit of research on Buddha and Jesus -- comparing and contrasting the two, as well as just get a bit of the foundation of Buddhism. It is very interesting stuff and lead to my listening to some talks given by Ravi Zacharias at the following link:

http://www.rzim.org/radio/archives.php?p=LMPT&v=detail&id=24
http://www.rzim.org/radio/archives.php?p=JT&v=detail&id=408


Both of these are one part of a larger series. Anyway, I quite like the intellectual style of Ravi.

This exploration lead to a couple of conversations with people at my church and I enjoyed these dialogues tremendously. These conversations reminded me of some fairly intense Bible studies I had been to in the past and I realize that I miss the deep (at least for me) exploration of the Bible that I enjoyed before.

However, in the midst of this week, we also read Psalm 103 -- a favorite for me, as it contains the first Scripture I ever memorized:

"The wind blows
and we are gone--
As though we had never been here."
Psalm 103:16

And I must say, as I travel down the path of exploring the meaning of the bible through discourse with other Christians, and by researching and listening to others' viewpoints, I had better be pretty careful, because "the wind blows and we are gone--as though we had never been here." Time is very, very short. To seek the truth is a priority, but I know my tendency to seek a good argument. Hmmm...

Anyway, very interesting week.....

Brother

The news hit hard, though there was no surprise. He's in trouble again. My heart just does not know what to do with this information, except hurt.

He was at rock bottom at this time last year. In a halfway house, he elected to go to jail instead to get his sentence over with more quickly. There were opportunities. The judge wanted to put him in a program that the judge himself is involved in and work on getting him straightened out, but he could not somehow stand the routine.

He has been an alcoholic for most of his life, and the sentence he was serving was for a D.U.I. offense quite a number of years ago. He has never been far away from a bottle of some sort. A few months at most, and those months were forced upon him (i.e., jail terms).

After serving his time this last time around, he went to a VA centre (he is a veteran, having served about 3 years in his late teens / early twenties). The VA centre helped him, but he lived in a part of Detroit (I believe it was Cass Corridor) that you should experience only if you want to experience what it is like to be in a place that is drug infested, alcohol ridden, and crime friendly. The only time I've ever been there is by mistake, and just driving in it send cold chills up and down a person's spine. And if you are sensitive to despair, it will make you feel as if your heart is being squeezed and tears are flowing out of it. Overwhelming despair.

He was tested for disabilities. He was told that he should get his knee reoperated on -- the military had "botched" it pretty badly the first time around, from which he still receives disability allowances. With his history and physical condition, it was obviously hard to find a real job. He has never been able to hang on to them for very long. But, my mother's brother had an idea. One of his sons had similar problems, though resolved them at a much younger age. What helped him resolve them was the Merchant Marines.

The Merchant Marine is a fascinating organization that is civilian except in times of war. A private fleet of ships in the U.S. hires Merchant Marines for their services on these ships -- any kind of services actually. The organizations motto on one page I saw is "no bull, no bias, no pressure". They will take a person that has seen quite a bit of trouble and give them a chance. No matter your history, it seems, you can work your way up in their organization. Obviously, a military history helps place you in the organization.

I haven't seen my brother in a year, but I wondered what steps had been taken to help him when the temptation of the bottle and the self-destructive behavior would raise its ugly head again. With 25 years of the same patterned behavior, what was going to keep him from the exact same responses to his situations this time? Apparently nothing.

On a leave recently, he borrowed a shipmate's car for a weekend "to go up north" to visit friends. He did not show up at work when he was supposed to, did not return the car, and was found "sleeping it off" in the car in the Cass Corridor area, I believe, several days after he was supposed to report to work. They took him in, let him go, but impounded the vehicle. His shipmate had to bail it out so to speak. My brother very likely will lose his job.

I've been praying for my brother. We've talked about God. I've sent him information about God. The level of his resistance has been quite high. I am quite powerless in my own right to help my brother. And so I pray as I have prayed before.

"Lord, I love you. I am your servant -- no better than my brother, but with the saving knowledge of your sacrifice for me. Thank you, Lord, for forgiving my sins, though I know they have grieved you. I know of no better way to thank you than to pray to you tonight on behalf of my brother. Lord, I pray that somehow the seeds that have been planted with him over the years (I heard one story that he thought he was born again as a small child), take root. I pray that he turns to you in his despair and that he sees your face. Lord, what is impossible for any of us to do is possible with you. Is there a merchant marine who can share you with him? Can I do anything more? I pray that someone runs across his path that will get him to seek after you, Lord. I know that is the only way he will overcome - a direct connection with you. I pray he becomes of testimony of your love, Lord, as truly it would be thought of as a miracle for his life to be turned around. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen."

Philadelphia

The first time I read the book of Revelation -- the Revelation of Jesus Christ -- I thought that my church fit the Philadelphia model. I really did. The second time, I thought the same thing, and nothing has changed my mind to date. Tonight at our Word on Wednesday summer bible study, that comparison was made by another, so I feel like a sort of confirmation occurred.

My church, Central Tabernacle in Edmonton, Alberta, has gone through five years of some trials and tribulations, really, with the planning and implementation of a move to the northwest corner of the City of Edmonton. As is common in this type of situation, some doubts snuck in to the church. Why was it taking so long to sell the property? It is soooooooooo hard to persevere in some circumstances, that is for sure. And there is a very real enemy that just loves to sow and then feed on doubt -- oh, when I think about it, I just wish we could all be like the portrayal of Jesus in the garden of Gethsemane from Mel Gibson's "The Passion of the Christ" and STOMP on that snake. I know how much I wish I was more like Jesus in this regard.

Anyway, Philadelphia persevered, and so have we, though our struggle is not over. The lesson tonight was that perseverance may mean not playing it safe when troubles come on. That is not a time to lay back and play it safe, but to be bolder for Christ.

My prayer for my church tonight is that we don't play it safe. I pray we don't become in any complacent, but instead become eager for more. The Lord has blessed our move in a BIG way, and walking with the Lord is FUN and exciting. I pray that we make the most of the opportunity we have to come into a relatively newly developed area of the city and invite our neighbors with our faith and our love to become a part of our family. I pray that we are sensitive to those needing and seeking God and that we understand that there are no mistakes -- people in our church, in our lives, in our sphere of influence are there for a reason. I pray we are as forgiving as we have been forgiven. I pray that people all over this new community come to experience the love that I and many others have been shown at Central.

2EKO

“My life is an example to many,
Because you have been my strength and
protection.
That is why I can never stop praising you;
I declare your glory all day long.”
Psalm 71:7-8 (New Living Translation)

2EKO

If you yelled those number and letters out just like that when our group of World Masters competitors were hanging out or practicing, one of my friends would turn to you and wonder why you called out his name. His name is really spelled Thuy Cao, but coming from Vietnam, when people had trouble pronouncing his name here, he told them to just say “2 E” and that would do! I think it is very convenient as well that we pronounce his last name “K O”. He is the only person I know whose name may be pronounced by saying one number and three letters.
Thuy has meant a lot to me over the past year and a half really. I first met him when I came up to see the Singing Christmas Tree in December 2003. He was an usher and when he introduced himself to me, he told me that just the previous day he had said he wished I was there for the Tree, and then I was there! He made me feel very special and welcomed in this place for sure. I have since found out that that is the kind of thing that happens often at The Singing Christmas Tree at Central Tabernacle.

The following year, I returned for April, May and June. In June, the church had a tennis event, and I got the chance to play tennis with Thuy. I found out he is a fantastic tennis player. He has very smooth strokes and a mind for the game – that is, he combines skill and strategy and he does not get flustered or frustrated easily.

When I moved here, Thuy and his family were kind enough to invite me out to lunch to Chinatown in Edmonton. I was very excited – one of my best friends while growing up was Vietnamese, and I quite enjoyed the cuisine she and her sisters prepared. So, we went to lunch and continue doing so every so often.

Thuy played on the World Masters Team from the church – his sport of choice was badminton. However, he played tennis in the winter league to help get the tennis players trained up. We live in the same part of the city, so we rode together on Saturday mornings (at least while I was going). We would stop at Tim Horton’s on the way to get a warming coffee on those freezing winter mornings, and we would sip our coffees and commiserate about the cold as we drove over in the early darkness to the University of Alberta’s Saville Sports Centre to play.

We learned a lot about each other’s families – like me, Thuy is the only Christian in his immediate family. He is not considered the “successful” one in his family – rather, I gather his siblings are all quite successful in their careers though their relationships suffer. Thuy on the other hand is quite successful in his relationships, including his relationship with Jesus Christ.

Thuy spoke at the church on Father’s Day – you can hear him at: http://www.centraltab.ab.ca/sermons/ , select June 19, 2005. Thuy, his wife Kris, children Amanda and Jordan, and I went to lunch afterwards, and talked a long time about our relationships with our fathers. Thuy told me how his father had decided to attend a wedding out of town during the time of the World Masters Games, and so he would not see Thuy play. It was apparent to me that Thuy would have liked his father to see him play.

Regardless, Thuy kept training for his badminton as well as training those competing in the tennis event. The World Masters Games began sometime around July 20. I saw Thuy play mixed doubles badminton early on in the week-long event. He and his partner lost to a well-seasoned New Zealand team in this more of a warm-up team event.

Despite his own demanding badminton schedule, Thuy came out and watched the tennis players play their matches. He watched and cheered with the rest of us as we watched our teammates duke it out on the courts. In the meantime, he had some tough matches lined up. I watched him play doubles with his brother later in the week – his brother pulled a muscle in his leg, so Thuy had to work pretty hard in the match. They had won previous rounds, and the match I saw did not really count. They lost the match but were still in medal contention.

Thuy played a bit of singles, too, but I never got to see that. I remember talking to him the day before a full day of singles play on his part and I asked him about how it was all going. He said he just wanted to see his brother win a medal, and so he was really fighting for the doubles medals. After that day of singles in which he played in two divisions for medal positions, he came out to a tennis match and sat next to me. I asked him how he did. “Not good,” is what I heard come back in a solemn voice. He had lost three matches that day. I glanced over at him and thought I saw a tear or two well up in his eyes. My heart went out to him.

I thought of all of the emotion that goes through a person that is expecting to win matches and medals, and then . . . they lose. I thought of the people on the courts who had support groups around them – parents, wives, siblings, children, and how fortunate they were to have that. I thought of the participants that had time in their lives to actually significantly improve their game – perhaps more flexible jobs, flexible schedules, or perhaps lives less committed to church, kids, family and friends, so they could play more than once a week on a Saturday morning on a regular basis.

But you know, the World Masters Games is not about who can prepare the most for their event or who can invest the most money in their equipment or who has the most fans or anything like that. The World Masters is an arena where the everyday man or woman can take their athletic skill at any given point in their life and test it against others with the same passion for their sport. It is a place where we can get in tune with our bodies, put our hearts into our sport, and focus our minds, in the hopes of being at our best, no matter what happens. It is also a place to develop relationships with teammates, opponents, bystanders, officials, and any others who may cross our paths and wonder what it is like to compete for a World Masters medal.

Thuy, who had every reason to expect one, came away from the games without a World Masters medal. He did everything right – he trained as much as he could, he ate well, he slept well, he encouraged his teammates both in badminton and tennis, his wife, kids and friends were encouraging him, his body, heart and mind were all in good form.

So, why did he lose?

He didn’t.

Thuy is very fortunate. He recognizes our Father who has trained him well, who is at all of Thuy’s matches, who is his leader and a constant participant in his life, who fosters his heart, who demonstrates his approval, and who loves him no matter what.

Thuy’s kids are very fortunate, too. They have a father who will teach them about our Father, who will train them in their sport and in life, who will be at their matches, who will participate in their lives, who will foster their hearts, who will demonstrate his approval, and who will love them no matter what.

2EKO - #1

World Masters

“Don’t be ridiculous!” Saul replied. “There’s no way you can fight this Philistine and possibly win! You’re only a boy, and he’s been a man of war since his youth.”
1 Samuel 17:33 (New Living Translation)

The World Masters

I was on a team earlier this year. A great team in fact. I was on a team of ten to twelve athletes planning to compete in the 2005 World Masters Games in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. We all live in Edmonton and recognized this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to participate in a worldwide event hosted in our hometown.

There were several sports being entered into by our teammates – badminton, decathlon, golf, soccer, tennis, track and field, and triathlon. I was involved in tennis, at least for a while.

We began intensely (for us) training in January by participating in a sort of round-robin league every Saturday morning from 8:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. It was a great way to spend Saturday mornings during the cold Edmonton winter months. After just a couple of practices, my right knee experienced a significant enough problem that I knew I’d not be able to play for a while, and not seriously until my weight is significantly reduced. So I withdrew from competing in The Games.

But I was not inclined to withdraw from the team. The people on our team were training for a significant event in their lives and were willing to commit time, resources and effort, to put forth their best and compete with other recreational athletes from around the globe. And just being around them was inspiring and motivating. Added to that, I thought I might bring some experience to bear given a past of some teaching, coaching and playing the game of tennis.

So, I hung with the team. Some time was focused on learning how to stretch and on learning exercises specifically helpful for those in racquet sports. A ball machine and a tennis lesson came in handy. The members of this team were willing to stretch themselves in a variety of ways to improve their performance and increase their capabilities in their sport(s). Their heart for the game of tennis and for The World Masters Games was beginning to grow and to show.

After all the work and all the training, it was finally time to compete. Here is where the rubber meets the road for sure – competition. The stakes were high: coveted medals of gold, silver and bronze.

I ate lunch with one of the doubles teams (Bob Jones and Bruce Neuman, a.k.a. B&B, a.k.a. B-squared) one day early on in the tournament, and much to my surprise, learned that they had never played an official tennis tournament. That is quite amazing in my view. I am quite sure that if I was a 45- to 50-year-old athlete entering my first tennis tournament, it would not be in the World Masters Games! Their courage and, well, their audacity, touched my heart – I knew I was sitting with two winners.

Sure enough, B&B ended up competing for a bronze medal in the 30- to 39- year old category for doubles. In their first match, they worked very hard to prevail over a team they had played all year in the Saturday morning league – in fact, they were two of our own team members. Calculated strategy and persistence won out over the youthful exuberance of their competitors, but the fight was a valiant one.

In the next round, B&B actually had to play against the brother-in-law of another of our teammates who was competing in badminton. Early in the match, we saw Bob get injured as he stretched to return a ball. They split sets, and then in the third set, got an early lead of 4-0. We could see they were quite weary, though, and we ached for them as they dropped the next two games to bring the score to 4-2. But, we were needlessly empathetic as they dug deep and won the next two games to take the match with a 6-2 score in the third set.

That match lasted about 2½ hours and was one of the finest examples I have seen of determination. Afterwards, while B&B were showering and nursing their injuries and/or sore muscles, we spoke to some Australian players that had been playing on a neighboring court, and they said they followed B&B’s match and were “so glad to see the redbacks win!” Injured and older (by 15 or 20 years) than their opponents, B&B were definitely the underdogs in this match – and most people really can relate to being the underdog at one time or another.

The win put them in the semi-finals against the predicted winners of the tournament. Their opponents were seasoned tournament players and though B&B won two games, they had played quite a few matches in other divisions as well, and injuries and fatigue were taking their toll. So, they were fairly handily beaten by two quite a bit younger and less weary opponents.

That put them in the 3rd place / 4th place playoff for the bronze medal. They played a team that had also had a very good tournament, and had suffered less injuries and most likely played less matches. It was a good match, although B&B took 4th place.

How do you tell a team how much you appreciated their efforts? How do you tell them how much it means to support a team that is willing to play with all their heart, even when they are not expected to win and are the underdogs in all of their matches?

How many times did God back the underdogs? How many battles were won “against the odds” with God’s support? There are so many examples in the Bible of people emerging triumphant when it would seem there was no hope. Why? I believe that God looks for those against whom the odds are stacked and reveals himself in those circumstances, so that you and I begin to see how all things are possible with Him. He knows when we are digging deep and he fortifies us in many different ways so we keep playing the game.

Who do you choose to be? The one the world favored – Goliath? Or the underdog – David? David may not have won every battle he faced, but he dug deep and God was there -- every time -- to encourage him to become a World Masters Champion.