January 27, 2012
What a fun night with friends at the "Beauty and the Beast" OU meet combining men's wrestling and women's gymnastics! It was a great night eating out, cheering for some super athletes and getting autographs at the end of the evening! We were surrounded by amazing accomplishments and high scores with both teams decidedly winning their meets. In the midst of so much human recognition, I was struck by two stories that the Lord has brought to Annabeth's life in the process of showing her the calling of using your talents for His glory and never resting in anything other than Him. The men's wrestling wasn't exactly why we were there but when we were going through the line talking to the wrestlers, I was reminded of something that truly touched my heart and is so applicable to the time of life we find ourselves in right now. A year ago, Jay had the pleasure of meeting Coach Jack Spates who was head coach of OU wrestling for 18 years. He has an amazing list of accomplishments as he poured his heart and soul into the OU wrestling program for so many years before retiring to start a campus ministry at UCO this past fall. As the guys were signing autographs, I mentioned Coach Spates and the blessing he provided for Annabeth when she was struggling with gymnastics last spring. Their eyes lit up and they agreed that he is an incredible man. The gift he provided my little girl was a letter. Jay mentioned in passing one day the struggles she has as someone so dedicated to her sport but with seemingly little accomplishment from meet to meet. Here is the response we recieved shortly after that conversation:
Dear Anna Beth,
I am the wrestling coach at the University of Oklahoma. Your dad tells me that you are a dedicated gymnast. I want to commend you for accepting the challenge of being an athlete, especially in such a demanding sport. Having been an athlete and, for about 33 years a coach, I know that there are many trials and disappointments that go along with striving for excellence in sport. Most people don't have the courage to experience such trials but that is what makes athletes special. They are willing to try things and undergo disappointments because of their love of their sport and because of a desire to attempt great things.
As a coach I would encourage you to keep trying to learn. Sometimes athletes like to do just the things they are good at but those who become outstanding are willing to constantly try things in order to improve. As a christian coach I would encourage you to work hard and smart to the glory of God. After doing that put the results in God's hands and be grateful for the opportunity to compete. Pray that your involvement in gymnastics will give you the opportunity for people to see Jesus in you because of the way you act and to be able to tell them about our great God and the forgiveness and hope He offers through His Son. We have a number of christian coaches and athletes at OU and this is our prayer. I am praying for you that God would help you work hard and be faithful in your gymnastics and that you would compete joyfully and with a desire to bring Him glory. I hope I get to meet you down the road. May the Lord bless and use you Anna Beth.
Coach Spates
What an amazing gift! How beautiful of the Lord to remind me of this man's humble words to a nine year old girl on the eve of yet another meet for her! What a blessing that he would honor God by writing such wise words to a little girl he's never even met! And the last story of the evening came from Annabeth's favorite gymnast, Natasha Kelley. Natasha is an amazing gymnast with an incredible record of accomplishments. As she was about to begin her senior year at OU, she tore her Achilles tendon thus having to declare retirement at the beginning of January. She had already battled back from three serious injuries in her gymnastics career and so this last year as a Senior was not to be for her. I can only imagine her disappointment but she was right there with her team all night cheering them to victory. She even came to sign autographs and Annabeth was so excited to see her. We told her we were so sorry about her injury and how much Annabeth has enjoyed watching her during her time at OU. She was so gracious and kind. Last night as Annabeth and I cuddled up before bed, we talked about her meet today and the stories of both of these people. They both know that there is much more to life than a sport. We prayed for Coach Spates and Natasha and for Annabeth to continue to persevere trusting the outcomes of her earthly endeavors to her Savior and to continue striving to bring Him honor in all things.
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