Be Mentally Tough

I first started playing Volleyball about thirty years ago and found out I loved the sport. The only problem was I was the worst player on the court and the other players let me know it… not by overt words but things like body language and other expressions of contempt. Often times the better players will hit hard balls at inferior players to run them off, etc.

I experienced all those things but… I loved Volleyball and I told myself and reassured myself that all I needed was time and repetition to develop the needed skill set. To be successful at anything you have to develop mental toughness.

You have to be mentally tough to be a good Christian too. You may take a long look at your life and compare it to someone else’s and decide you need Christ and Christianity. You may even love the Christian life but find that there are those who criticize you… maybe even people you love the most in the world. They may say things like… Christians are hypocrites or… that church is a cult. They may look at the things you’re trying to correct and control in your life and tempt you with those same things.

I knew a young man who wanted to go to church on Sunday mornings but his wife would offer to be intimate with him if he stayed home… so he stayed home.

If you’re going to be a Christian you have to be mentally tough and have faith in God’s plan to turn you into who you need to be. You have to build new habits and you may have to lose a few old friends… but let me tell you this… whatever you have to give up will pale in comparison to what you will be blessed with.

I turned 65 last year and this month I’m going to a Volleyball tournament in San Antonio to qualify for the U.S. Nationals in Florida. I gave myself time to develop the skills I needed, I ignored all the naysayers and I never gave up on the sport I love or myself.

Study your Bibles, grow in faith, congregate with your fellow Christians and get rid of all those friends who want you to fail and we’ll march into Heaven together.