Practice by Pastor Mike

“The more you practice, the better you get.” I kept telling myself that during the first practice of the boys’ basketball team I am coaching. “The more you practice, the better you get”. I kept telling myself that…because at the time I was beginning to question that!

Since that first practice, I’ve experienced God speaking to me through the decision of two boys on the team. Both came into the season with little basketball experience and low levels of skill. One of the boys (I’ll call him Buck) was quite receptive to my coaching. He didn’t enjoy the repetition of skill building drills, but he worked hard to do them. He shot the ball from the same spot again and again and again…working on his form, but missing the hoop badly. The other boy (I’ll call him Jack) had a similar skill set, but was not receptive to my coaching. He shuffled through the drills with half effort at best. At times he quit and feigned an injury or took an extended bathroom break.

We’re about half way through the season now, any guesses what’s happened? Buck hasn’t exactly turned into Le Bron James (he needs a better coach for thatJ), but he has gotten much better. At our game this past weekend, he scored his very first point. The team and the crowd cheered wildly. It was a beautiful moment. Jack…well, Jack has not gotten better. He has not scored a single point. Buck now enjoys our practices; Jack still doesn’t.

“The more you practice, the better you get.” I think that’s true. I think that’s true with basketball and I think that’s true connecting with God. I’m enjoying our church wide commitment to read the bible at least ten minutes a day…some of the time. Some days the ball goes in the hoop and it feels good! I connect. I hear and I feel heard. But some days it feels more like an air ball. The passage is confusing, I’m not focused, or any number of reasons. But as I’ve been doing this daily habit for a number of years, the “makes” have gone up and the “misses” have gone down.

“The more you practice, the better you get.” As Cheryl mentioned in her blog last week---it’s not because God will love you more than He already does; it’s because you’ll get to know Him more than you currently do. Don’t give up, it’s worth the effort!