To be a talented athlete is such a gift. Not many people are graced with the naturally athletic body as a child, and as they get older, the long legs needed to be a runner or the stocky build needed to be on defense on the football team don’t always come naturally. There is a certain element of skill that is needed. There is some natural talent, some ability deep down to make the perfect pass or have the perfect form, or see the ball at just the right time. To know the sport, and to have a connection with the field or the court or the track, is a gift. And then, as one gets older, the will power to go out every single day and grind and grind and push no matter what becomes more critical. There has to be work and effort and the desire to never, ever give up. If you mix those two elements — the natural talent and the work ethic — you’ve got a superstar. And it doesn’t just have to be in sports, it could be in anything — math, musical instruments, art.
But this case, this story focuses on a basketball player, who was incredibly talented. College coaches started noticing him when he was just a freshman in high school, and he held every school record possible as he went through his four years at high school. This boy lived the life of the glamorous hometown celebrity, and even regional and nation wide as his years went on. Many people knew of him as “that basketball star” and it was evident he had a future in the sport. This boy went on to play in college and come out as a freshman phenomenon. He was a legend who was always being featured on ESPN. High school players would reach out to him and ask for advice or inspiration in gaining as much talent as he had. This boy played one year in college, and then at the age of 19 got drafted into the NBA. He was benched at the beginning but his incredible work ethic eventually got him playing time about halfway into the season. It felt like a roller coaster that could only go up. How much better could it get from here?
The thing about roller coasters is, they always end up going back down. Think about it, have you ever seen a roller coaster that doesn’t have a sudden plummet straight down? As the following season came around and got rolling, this boy's coaster car was reaching the peak, and it took that sudden downward fall when he was in the weight room and the bar fell on him while doing a chest press, knocking the air out of his lungs and breaking his collarbone. After wearing the brace for a long few months, he ended up with a permanently chipped collarbone and loss of range of motion in his left shoulder, meaning basketball wasn’t a possibility anymore. The boy went to countless physical therapy sessions and worked on rehab just as hard, or even harder, than he worked while he was in practice. However, like a tube of toothpaste, some things just can't go back to the way they were. “Why do bad things happen to good people?” this boy wondered. He worked so hard and did everything right, what could he have possibly done to deserve such a heartbreaking blow? How could the thing he loved the most — the game of basketball — be taken away from him?
The thing is though, this boy came to realize that God has a reason for everything. Maybe we don’t understand quite what God’s reason is. Maybe it takes days or weeks or months, sometimes even years before we can understand why certain things happen to us. The boy had often thought, if I had gone to the gym earlier, maybe I wouldn’t have been as tired and I wouldn’t have dropped the bar. Maybe if someone different were spotting me, they could have caught it so it didn’t fall. Maybe if I moved out of the way or turned to the side, the injury could have been different. But, we can’t sit here and rack our brains for all the “what if’s” because the past is the past and there is nothing that can be done now to change it. There was no amount of therapy and rehab that this boy could have done to fix his shoulder. The range of motion was officially shot, so what now? What was God’s reason for doing this? Why did the light go out on everyone’s favorite basketball super star?
He started volunteering with children’s basketball leagues, and teaching kids some of the tricks that he had. He passed on his work method to these younger players that had idolized him while he played and even now. They constantly told him things like, “You’re always going to be my favorite player,” and “No one else can move down the court as fast and flawless as you.” He made a difference in their lives, because that was God’s plan for him. And even though at the beginning it was hard to accept he would never go on to play in an NBA championship game, he eventually learned to understand that his life now was better than what he had originally imagined.
God only plans the best for us, so even when it’s hard to understand what exactly His purpose is in taking away something we wanted, we need to believe and trust that there’s something better waiting. Always trust, and always believe in Him. Although at times you may feel hurt, just know that you will be healed, and everything will be worth it. Trust in the plan.
