Patience And Maturity - A Basketball Analogy

One of the toughest things I'm finding I have to accept is that the maturity process takes time. I find that I struggle with finding the balance being desperate for God and being ready to take in what he decides to reveal me. I liken the idea to being a bench player on a basketball team. I'm sitting there, watching the game unfold, absolutely dying to get on the court and start contributing because I believe that I can. When I feel I’m not, I get a bit anxious and approach the head coach, God, and say to him: " Put me in coach. I want to help the team. I think I’m ready. I know I can contribute."

Now God is like the Hubie Brown of coaches, he's so much more interested in long-term development over any short-term gain. He is so genuinely concerned with how we develop as individuals, how we develop as a team and how much enjoyment we take in playing that the players absolutely love him for it. He's also an expert at knowing what situations we'd be most effective in even if we may disagree.

So being who he is, his response to me is: "Not yet. You've got amazing potential, but you still need to work on your fundamentals and understanding or the game. Keep at it and don’t be afraid to come to me. Enjoy what’s going on. Your name will be called so have patience and always be prepared to contribute. I have faith in you."

Now I can either sulk my way back to the bench or come back with a little added fire. I hope I come back with some fire. It’s that fire that makes me want to come practice next day with more energy, work a little harder and be a little wiser. There’s always times when practice will be bad, I’ll make a huge mistake or just don’t have the proper attitude. Coach may get mad at me but never gives up on me.

Because of that, I want to constantly bring my very best even though it’s can be tough. At times, I forget why I put myself through this but I'm always reminded that I do all of this because I absolutely love playing for my coach and for my team. I do all of this so that when my name is called, I'm ready to jump on the court and play with the confidence of knowing that Coach has put me in because he knows I’m ready and the joy of playing because I am. And when someone asks how I've come this far, I know who to say the credit really belongs to.

Perhaps this is where patience and maturity play such an important role in our spiritual lives. along with discipline, passion and joy. After all, we have ourselves a coach who can help us with all these matters.