Believe

Wow.  I'm looking at the time and what a year it's been!  Somehow, someway, my classmates and I graduated from K.D. College a few weeks ago and the all consuming last short film is done.  Now, behind the scenes, choices are made regarding its future in a film festival.  I'll give more news on that as I have it.  For now, it's been a great week to put on the brakes and smell the roses for awhile.

The Super Bowl weekend had an interesting theme to it.  My Dad and I watched ESPN and learned about the lives of Michael Strahan and Jerry Rice from their sports documentaries.  Their stories were inspiring, especially Rice's.  Goodness, what an athlete he was-and still is.  But he had a distinct message for those who were wondering how he got there in an interview. "You've got to believe in yourself." 

Sunday afternoon rolls around and catches us unguarded.  Several short films have been sent to the NFL about how football has impacted someone's life positively.  There were ten finalists that had been voted by the people and one of them was about an older Dad who loved football, but had been diagnosed with cancer.  I don't want to spoil it, but it has a great ending.  Guess what he said?  "You've got to believe in yourself."   It really is something cool to check out. They have many more submissions that build on that theme.  

After the superbowl was over, Russel Wilson was holding the Lombardi trophy and a reporter reminded him of a saying his late father made.  "Why not you, Russ?"  Everyone told him he was too short to play football when he was younger. There in front of fans he gave glory to God, then his family and teammates, but he also said, "You have to believe in yourself."

This has been an encouraging weekend.  I'm looking at cold hard facts as a writer. Out of all the submissions that a production company receives, less than 1% will actually make the cut.  There are no overnight successes that didn't start as years of writing and re-writing.  Even in the world of publishing, rejection is business as usual for a writer.  Although it is true to say to oneself "I can't do this by myself", it is also equally true that "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me" (Phil 4:13).  In fact, I would go as far to say that "We are more than conquerors in Christ Jesus" (Romans 8:37).   Belief is a powerful thing.  "For as he thinks in his heart, so is he..." (Prov. 23:7).  I think God wants us to have a healthy concept of self, so long as we don't forget that God should be paramount in our lives, not self. For instance, Russell Wilson gave glory to God first, then talked about believing in oneself. It's inspiring to see redemptive masculinity that is neither arrogant, nor docile, but asserting the truth.  Thank God for football and words of encouragement!