We spent most of the day watching two of our grandsons play sports. Our 15 year old grandson threw the discuss and shot put in his league championship. This is his first year participating in these two disciplines. He was able to make up for his inexperience with innate ability to do pretty well. However there were struggles in the process as he learned.
Our nine year old grandson played Little League baseball today. At this age there are lots of walks, errors and strike outs. All of the boys are learning the game and the skills.
Both boys are learning the value of endurance. To get better, they have to persevere and practice. They will struggle at times but should improve with continued effort in the right direction.
We all need to learn these lessons. Life is filled with struggles and troubles. What we do with these problems will determine the kind of person we become. James 1:2-4 says, “Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.”
So we grow, mature and improve the hard way, by persevering through the struggle and testing. Knowing the positive end result allows us to be joyful in the process.
Reluctant Retiree 