Carly was a good basketball player. She was a tenacious defender, but she couldn't shoot the ball very well. But one thing I loved about Carly was that if the ball was available, she was going to get it. Carly understood the game quite well. Most of her shots weren't going in, so she learned what most players today do not — stop pouting about your miss and go get the ball! We had one drill in which Carly was the queen of the court. It was our 11 man break drill. In it, whoever got the rebound got to continue playing in the drill. Carly stayed in this drill one day for 11 trips up and down the floor. That's right. She got 11 straight rebounds to stay in the drill. She took great pride in knowing that when most of her shots were not going in she did what she did best: got the ball. Not bad for only being 5’6".

Mistakes happen in life. We all have sinned and have fallen short of God's glory, but too many people (such as today's basketball players) leave it at that. They give up. Sin defeats them, and they don't rebound. Come on folks. Not everything we do turns to gold, so when we "miss" in life, we have to rebound and make the most of the next opportunity. When sin is the issue, in order to rebound, we must confess our sin, receive cleansing from our Maker and get back in the game! Too often, though, we sit there in our self-pity or pride and take ourselves out of the game of life.

Like Carly, some Christians understand that not every "shot" they take in life will go in, and that to be the best they can be, they will need to learn to rebound. Making the most of who God made you should be your goal. However, if you fail and never rebound back into the game, you allow Satan to have victory in your life. You definitely don't want him to win, so do what God wants you to do. When you miss (make a mistake or sin), rebound (confess and get back in the game). Any coach will tell you that great rebounding will always keep his team in the game. So ask yourself this question: are you a good rebounder, or just a poor shooter who is still stuck on why you missed in the first place?