We continue to meet new people and get to know the friends we have made so far. It has been great getting to know some of the football players I work with a few nights a week. We have been sleeping little with such a crazy schedule, however we are encouraged at the opportunities given us!
"They" say that the past will come back to haunt us, but rarely do "they" say how it will come back to help us. In fact, if you were to google (someday spell check will recognize this as a verb) history quotes, you would find that most quotes on history are quite negative. It is actually quite depressing. But what we write about history is from a perspective, a pessimistic one at that! Very few quotes remember the things in our histories that bring about a better future, a more rich present.
I have been in sports as both a coach and an athlete for as long as I can remember. Even when I was not active as either of those, my life was saturated with sports. These sports ranged from your mainstream sports (football, gymnastics, etc) to, as they say here, "radical" sports (rock climbing, surfing, etc.). I have been known for my conditioning work with athletes ranging from baseball to gymnastics to climbers (and on and on). Steph, too, has seen her history is cheer stunting, gymnastics, climbing, slacklining, etc. She has connected well with the kids she works with because of years of experience working with them.
I would have never thought that our history in sports would open so many doors to work with and get to know so many people in so many situations. Both Steph and I have been blessed to use our history to engage our present, we shall see how it directs our future.
I am constantly encouraged by the opportunities we are blessed with, the people we sport with (that's right, I used it as a verb!). People here have a long history in sport, as they have a long history in general. But I am learning much from them and they have welcomed us through sports.
Sometimes, we forget the amount of stuff we learn in our lives, either professionally, educationally, or live lessonally (yea I know). It is amazing how things come back to us. With technology today, information is so easily gained, but that stuff we spent hours and hours and days and days attaining, it is burned into our minds. It is there like a ghost hiding in the shadows. But this ghost does not have mal-intent, like a Holy Ghost it is there to help, to aid, to support.
We are so afraid of being haunted by a history that holds as many blessings, if not more. This ghost, given to us, is a gift. One to harness, to remember, to be thankful for.
"Most people never run far enough on their first wind to find out they've got a second."
-William James
"History never looks like history when you are living through it."
-John W. Gardner
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