With preseason and two-a-days coming up, emotions are on a high. If you are an athlete, you know the beginning of two-a-days is one of the most exciting, but exhausting times of the year. Heck, it may as well be its own holiday for athletes. A typical two-a-day schedule would consist of…5 a.m. weights, followed by a two hour practice, then lunch, a three-hour break that would usually consist of team bonding, and to end the draining day another two to three hour practice with conditioning.

Unfortunately, as athletes we all know the excitement behind preseason doesn’t last for long. After the third day our bodies are extremely sore to the point of aching constant pain and our minds are mentally beat from the mounds of information given. The only thing that is pushing us past the pain and barriers is knowing that the first scrimmage and game of the season is soon. If you are an athlete you know how crucial it is to be not only physically ready but mentally set.

From one athlete to another, please don’t take the blessing of your sport for granted. Some individuals wish they had the abilities to play sports, but physically or mentally cannot. So please, be thankful. It may seem like a curse more than a blessing, but sometimes you need the best of both worlds in order to get the full effect.

Now, I know at times it feels like you are putting yourself through too much, but trust me when I say that incredible sport has helped build you inside and out. Those long excruciating practices, the nasty sweat stains, the bruises on your body, and the mental breakdowns were all worth it in the end.

That magnificent sport has helped you build inner strength, those bruises all over your body are a mark of dedication, those long practices helped shape your patience for the future, and overcoming those mental breakdowns has given you the guidance to move past obstacles standing in your way. That sport was your first love and nothing could come between you. You busted your butt day in and day out and I promise it was all worth it.

Lastly, remember don’t glorify yourself within your achievements, glorify God. The Creator of All blessed YOU with those special abilities so use them to glorify him, use them to spread his amazing word, and use them lift up his name! You are strong, dedicated, and courageous not because of yourself, but because God installed that inside of you. Glorify him because he will never fail YOU.

“Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize.” – 1 Corinthians 9:24