First of all, if you know R, you know that he firmly believes tennis is a sacred sport. He often tells me that it was invented by monks, therefore, watching a match totally qualifies as a religious experience. He learned this on our tour of the International Tennis Hall of Fame.
On our honeymoon.
A few weeks ago, he had the opportunity of a lifetime to see Andy Roddick and John Isner play in the US Open Series tournament. Of course, I tagged along for funsies. I discovered that going to a live event is actually pretty awesome. The tennis was good, but there was oh-so-much more to see and experience.
Take the clothes, for example. Some people (like us) just dressed in our ordinary shorts/tee shirts attire. Totally reasonable for a sporting event, right? Some of the 35-45 female crowd was actually rocking their very own tennis dresses and bloomers....I guess they wanted to be prepared if Roddick or Isner was injured and needed a sub. And then there's the lady who came dressed in a mini-dress with four inch platform heels. Only one word for her - WHY?
Well, here's the thing: my hubbie must be right about the sacred sport thing because God chose a tennis tournament to speak some words of Truth in my heart. If you look at the picture above, you'll notice the cameraman out on the court with the players during the match. His sole job on the court was to follow the player....no matter what's happening on the court. Balls were flying at 130-140 mph, but the cameraman never lost his focus on the star player.
Can you imagine the victory in our lives if we were to focus that whole-heartedly on Jesus? On every step He takes? Every detail He creates? With no acknowledgement of the battles and chaos going on in our periphery?
Focus on the Star Player - not the distractions of the game. He's already won!
