My wife is a National Champion! Yep, believe it or not, she is a member of a USTA 3.5 women’s tennis team that advanced all the way from humble, hardly-anyone-has-heard-of Tri-Cities, Washington, to the USTA National Championship tournament held in Indian Wells, CA, last weekend. And her team won!
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| Team picture |
Talk about a happy, ecstatic group of women afterward…Whew! There were lots of hugs, tears, relief and “Oh-my-gosh-did-this-really-happen” rejoicing. Kathy is the second woman from the left in the back row.
I had a grand time cheering the team on, being there for them, cooking, taking pictures, and…well, a healthy dose of prayer was in there too…to ensure they made the most of the weekend. And they did.
What impressed me most was their unwavering focus when under great pressure. Three different times, whether they advanced or not depended upon a single match that came down to intense do-or-die third set tie-breaks. And they pulled it off every time.
My philosophy in sports is all are winners if they grow and learn from the experience, whether they hold the trophy in the end or not. But these women were so poised, full of grace and goodwill toward their opponents on court, unflustered under pressure, and able to focus, that they did end up holding the trophy. It was a lesson in staying committed to an ideal until it is realized. They won so much admiration and respect from opponents during the course of the championship tournament, that in the final match, teams they had defeated earlier stayed to cheer them on.
Anyway, not much of a spiritual message to share today, but thought you might like to know about the event since Kathy, my wife, is such a large part of my life.
It was fun!
Lovely, the spiritual message is there anyway, in your love.
AWESOME!!!
Congratulations all! I love the tone in sports of everyone winning as long as one is growing and experiencing progress…I’ve long felt that. But for me the spiritual lesson in all this is inspiring. Staying focused and committed until the goal is realized. We know it’s successful when God defines the goal and empowers us to realize it. Thanks for sharing and illustrating the fun that is to be had in living Love together.
Yay Kathy!
I am not a sports lover or even a watcher. It never was an interest to me, though my father was. He was more involved in the entertainment field as a acter in “B” pictures way before I was born in 1936. But I can understand one’s love of Sports and the dedication in it as well as the dedication that goes into the entertainment business. My father did own a professional boxer for a period whom I met when I was a child. The boxer that he owned fought Rocky Graziano, but I don’t remember his name. I do know that my father and his boxer weren’t involved with the Mafia. The fights were legal and without criminal involvement.
Congratulations, Kathy. What a wonderful inspiration you are for your children, as is Evan.
It was great to see you at Association.
Love,
Theodora
Yay Kathy! Congratulations! I’ve always thought it peculiar that sports teams sometimes pray to win. As if God is that magical geezer sitting on a cloud above us, who if He chooses, can wave a wand to make things happen in our favor. Instead, the right goal is to do as well as one can, expressing God all the way. Then great things happen!