Life rarely turns out as we thought it would. Sports aren’t any different. It may be fun to dream of the players we could be, but things do not always turn out as planned. Sometimes it’s hard to see, but looking back we realize it all worked for the best. I am glad for the things that are not as I had intended, because I would have missed a lot.

God does not often work in the ways we may think He would. He works beyond them. He does not fit in the box in which we are prone to put Him. In fact, He seems to do what does not make sense. The Savior of the world came as an infant, became a carpenter, rode on a donkey, served alongside fishermen, and died alongside criminals.

Endurance means putting one foot in front of the other no matter how things are going. At the London Marathon, a lot of the hard parts of that race were talking myself through the rough patches. The marathon is a good analogy for life in general. You’re going to go through those rough patches where you don’t feel good. You can either get down on yourself and cave in and start doing poorly, or you can tell yourself you’re doing great and you’re going to do your best no matter how you’re feeling or how slow you start. I really had to mentally coach myself through some rough patches in that race, and I think that’s the big part of endurance. Tough times are inevitable. They’re going to come.

Have you ever turned your TV on to a ball game and witnessed a coach or player saying words you did not want your children to repeat? Foul language is common in athletics today. What makes using these words so attractive? Some say it motivates or is necessary to get a point across. If this is the case, how do teachers and preachers teach lessons of life without using these words? If this type of language is used to motivate, then why is over 90 percent of it used in a negative context?

When I came to the Pittsburgh Steelers, I was a rookie and came in during the heyday when they were in the process of winning four Super Bowls in six years. You think of all the star players and the Hall of Fame guys and you think, well that’s why they’re so good. But it really wasn’t. As I got there, I saw how it operated. It was the practices. It was everybody working together. I think it’s still possible to achieve that today. The good teams have that. Even though you have star players, they understand that it’s not 11 individuals who are going to go out there and have things run smoothly enough to win.

I’ve been blessed to accomplish some amazing feats that only a handful of female basketball players have achieved. During my career, I’ve been honored to play on an NCAA National Championship team, a WNBA Championship team and an Olympic gold medal team. At Notre Dame, I hit the game-winning shot and was voted the 2001 Final Four’s Most Outstanding Player. With the Detroit Shock, I was named the 2003 WNBA Finals MVP.

In the movie Invincible, the story of Philadelphia Eagles fan-turned-NFL-pro Vince Papale plays out on the big screen. After losing his job and wife, he was told he would never amount to anything, that he wouldn’t make any money, and wasn’t going anywhere.

Some of us have experienced a coach saying, “You’re not talented enough. You won’t make it.” Possibly a coworker, spouse, friend, or parent has caused doubt.

I don’t know about you, but I don’t want my life to be a lie. If we claim to be followers of Jesus Christ but live “in darkness,” the Holy Spirit—through the apostle John—tells us we are liars. The other option is to “walk in the light,” as Jesus did when He was on the earth. If we are faithful in doing so, two things are granted to us: fellowship with other believers and continual cleansing from sin.

Sharing life with others who know Jesus is important; God did not create us to be alone! When we “walk in the light,” the dark parts of our lives are revealed, giving us the opportunity to correct them, repent, and move forward, and allowing us to grow closer to our Father along the way.

I am training for a marathon—a grueling task that is even more difficult because I’m training alone. Some training runs have been up to 18 miles—all on my own. When I run it’s just me, the trail, and my MP3 player. Before I decided to do the marathon I told God I wanted to run for His glory. With a month of training to go, I realized something had become all too familiar to me. Even when I didn’t have on headphones, I was singing in my head. I had been listening to my MP3 so often that the songs were in my mind all the time. When I focused on the words, I realized something was wrong.

NBA Player, Chauncey Billups, said, “To be a good leader, at some point you have to be a good follower. I was always a good follower. I always followed the right people and listened to the right things.
Those helped shape me as a leader.” So, are you a good follower?

I can’t tell you how many times I have heard “Are you a leader or a follower?” when I was growing up. A subtle principle was communicated through that question: “be a leader not a follower!”

Everybody knows that WWJD stands for “What Would Jesus Do.” A couple of years ago the saying swept across America like wildfire, becoming so popular that this witnessing tool also became a fashion statement, even to unbelievers. However, most athletes and coaches, men and women, young and old wore it to share their love for Christ. Even though WWJD is not new, the message is still powerful.

The last thing we need is another acronym, but GGTG is a great reminder for athletes and coaches. It should be the reason why we compete. As competitors, it helps us to focus on the main thing. The message is plain—it is not about us, but about Christ. So what does GGTG stand for? It stands for “Give God The Glory.”