Danny Green- On Being "Cut"

It's been said that the San Antonio Spurs are old.  This year, the Big Three of Duncan, Parker and Ginobli have proved many wrong by reaching the NBA Finals.  Even back in the 2007 Finals, people thought the Spurs were old.  Ginobli recently joked "We've been old for probably eight years now."  I'm grateful for our seasoned Spurs and excited about our young guys too!

The beauty about the Spurs is that Coach Pop is so keen on developing young players.  Take Danny Green.  Who doesn't remember his smile as big as the state of Texas as Green hit just one more shot from downtown in Game 3 of the Finals?  He ended the night with a game-high 27 points, a performance that went beyond his wildest dreams.

Green was twice cut by the Spurs and questioned whether he had a future in the NBA.  He was cut by Cleveland less than a year after drafting him.  Coach Popovich said that Green struggled with confidence issues in his early days.  When asked what advice he gave Green, Popovich said "Helping him believe that he belonged.  Not getting down if things didn't go well, to continue to push and to work.  And to Danny's credit, he's done that.  He's a pretty confident young man right now." 

Maybe you've experienced feeling "cut" in your life more than once like Danny Green.  Being "cut" can represent those times in your life when we feel beaten down, rejected and not wanted by the very people or organization we want to be associated with.  This can affect us more profoundly than we care to admit.  Who hasn't felt this in some form or fashion?  Not getting the promotion.  Not making the team.  Feeling left out.  Not wanted.  Even deeper than the actual being "cut" is the feeling of rejection.

Rejection can either destroy us or catapult us forward to see things through God's eyes.  Rejection can either make us give up or become determined to press in and work harder.  Rejection can allow us to become bitter or learn the beauty of humility.  Rejection can lure us to think negatively about ourselves or it can keep our heart pliable and dependent upon God.  It's a choice for each of us as to how we respond when being "cut."

Do you get it?  Being "cut" isn't always a bad thing.  God can take those painful experiences and transform them into a beautiful better new you.  Will you let him?  Go Spurs Go!

Nancy Abbott serves as Chaplain for the YMCA of Greater San Antonio.

When things don't go as planned

It seemed like the perfect day for a wedding.  Moderately sunny.  Perfect temperature.  Beautiful sprawling ranch with white tables, chairs and exquisite centerpieces set up picture perfect near a lake. A lovely day in Magnolia, Texas. Everything was planned to a tea.  As the clock ticked closer to 6 p.m., things changed quickly.  Clouds in the sky.  Raindrops.  Thunder in the distance.  As we ran through huge puddles to get to the party barn, my heart sank for the bride.  Wedding guests were huddled closely together under the barn, with rain gusting in from the sides.  All at once, the power went out.  Finally, the ceremony got underway.  Lightning and thunder bolts served as a background orchestra throughout the ceremony.  The memories of this wedding just kept coming.  Our Rav4 seemingly enjoyed the lovely ranch grounds and wanted to hang out just a bit longer in the mud.  It took four big men to push us out.  Then, a long drive home during a stormy night in Texas.  Sometimes, even with the best plans, things happen out of our control.

As much as we love to have things to go as planned, sometimes they don’t.  We prepare well.  We train well.  We do everything we can to ensure that everything will go off without a hitch.  And it doesn’t.  How we respond when bad things happen shows a lot about our character. 

We want to control outcomes. We don’t like it when we can’t. As human beings, (and adults) we like when things go our way, with no hassles, no problems and certainly no catastrophes.  But, life doesn’t always work like that.  And how we handle our “uncontrollable moments” shows a lot about our character. 

God is in control.  Always.  We don’t always get God’s ways.  Why?  We’re not God.  As we look through the Bible, there are countless stories of life that didn’t happen as planned.  But God was still God.  God was still trustworthy.  God was still sovereign.  As long as we live on this earth, we will face countless circumstances out of our control.  As we trust God in the midst of those circumstances, He will see us through.  He will give us a different perspective. He will build our character in the process.  An eternal perspective.

“What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us.” A. W. Tozer

“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord.  As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.”  Isaiah 55:8-9

Nancy Abbott serves as Chaplain of the YMCA of Greater San Antonio.

Being teachable

I was just visiting with my neighbor for a mere 30 minutes.  That’s how long it took for my stealthy English Springer, Gracie Lou, to find the left-over Easter candy.  I had left the pantry door ajar, and there in a bag were some individually wrapped Nestles Crunch Easter Egg Candy.  Not good.  Thankfully, outside of being extremely hyper, she came out of the ordeal extremely well.

Gracie Lou, if given the opportunity to partake of chocolate will go for it every time.  Even despite the issues that arrive in her system, she rarely remembers the next time chocolate becomes available.  And of course, she has no understanding that chocolate is extremely bad, even fatal, for dogs.  She’s actually quite proud of her glorious find!  She doesn’t see the “wrong” in her behavior.

We humans often don’t see the “wrongs” in our own behavior.  We often will do everything we can to focus on our skills and hide our mistakes and faults.  Adele Calhoun writes “According to Alix Spiegel, our “optimistic” and overconfident national character accounts for our lack of accurate self-assessment.  We would rather bluff, spin and manage an image than be wrong.  We would rather be self-deceived than teachable.” (Calhoun, Invitations from God)

Admitting our wrongdoings doesn’t at all come naturally. A foul on the basketball court.  A fender bender.  A struggle in a marriage.  Admitting to an affair. A political figure caught in wrong doing.  A significant error at work. Why are we so unable to see where we are wrong?

Whether your 25 or 55, you might benefit from the beautiful quality of teachability.  To be teachable means that your willing to unlearn and relearn.  You admit you need help and guidance.  You notice when you get into arguments over details that are not that important.  You begin to stop defending yourself and admit that you made a mistake.  You begin to see how much it matters to you that you’re right.

I’m so grateful to say I don’t have everything right.  As I accept this truth, I am willing to become more teachable, which allows me to grow and truly change.  “Being teachable opens me up to learning from the ideas and opinions of others.  It does not mean I don’t have my own beliefs, but that they are open to being refined and changed.” (Calhoun) Let’s consider this question as we start the week:  How does my personal need to be right affect my relationships with other people? 

“A person may think their own ways are right, but the Lord weighs the heart.”  Proverbs 21:2

 

Nancy Abbott is the Chaplain for the YMCA of Greater San Antonio

 

What's in a Team?

It’s a pretty exciting time in San Antonio these days.  Three words seem to have now become our choice greeting…. Go Spurs Go!  Even as I was waiting for a rental car today in Columbus, Ohio, I noticed someone next to me that was obviously from San Antonio.  Our greeting?  Go Spurs Go. 

 Although I’ve only lived in San Antonio for three years, I have become a full-fledged Spurs fan. I’ve noticed that all around our city, we talk about Pop, Timmy, Tony and Manu like they’re our next door neighbors.  When I play basketball with my next door neighbor boy, he always asks who I want to “be” when we play.  I say Timmy.  He says LeBron.  Gotta love it.  (I guess we're stuck playing Lebron.)

Coach Pop recently said in an article “We don’t depend on one guy.  We depend on everybody.”

Coach Pop knows about team. He has developed an amazing team. A team cares for each other.  A team loves each other. A team assists each other for the good of the team.  A team member doesn’t seek out attention and fame for himself, but desires the best for the team. A strong team is fully engaged and do not sit passively on the sidelines.  A strong team shares with one another.  They look for ways to help each other be successful.  If others on the team succeed beyond a team member’s own abilities, he is ecstatic for them.  A strong team is selfless.  That’s our Spurs.

To be perfectly honest, there are times when I don’t feel like being selfless.  I want the credit.  I want people to notice.  And sometimes, if really honest, I might not want to cheer someone on who does a better job than myself.  Gulp.  Not fun to admit.  Sometimes our own humanness gets in the way of being a strong team member.  I’ve often needed to go back to Philippians 2:3 for quick reminder:  “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit.  Rather, in humility value others above yourselves.”  If you and I applied that verse to our lives this week, how would your team change?  How would your family life change? How would your friendships change? How would you change?  May God help each one of us embody the characteristics of a great team player. Go Spurs Go!

Nancy Abbott serves as Chaplain for the YMCA of Greater San Antonio.

 

 

 

Tony Parker and Patience

You can’t live in San Antonio these days without being crazy for the Spurs.  On second thought, I guess you can, but you might not want to admit it. I think there are always great lessons to be learned from watching a basketball game, especially the Spurs.  Let’s rewind back to the first game of the Finals.

The lesson? Patience. The teacher? Tony Parker.  Who doesn’t know about the miraculous shot Parker made with 24 seconds left in the game?   With three minutes left on the clock, the Heat coach, Erik Spoelstra, gave Lebron James the dubious task of guarding Parker.  As the clock wound down, Parker seemed to have nowhere to go, trying to run out the clock, losing the ball, getting it back and finally making the shot.  THE shot.  Parker went on to say “Whoever they put on me, I just have to keep playing the same way and be patient.  I think for me it’s the big key in this series is to be patient.”  Wisdom, at its best. 

If we’re honest, we could all use a good dose of Tony Parker’s patience.  What makes you lose your patience? Crazy drivers? Waiting at a doctor’s office?  Unruly children? Impossible expectations? Physical ailments? We all have those things that cause us to lose it.  Patience is a virtue, but what does that mean?  Could you define patience, if you were asked?  James Spiegel writes “Patience is waiting without complaint.  To be patient is to endure discomfort without complaint. This calls into play some other virtues, specifically self-control, humility, and generosity.”  Would those closest to you consider you a patient person? 

Our waiting has a purpose.  Being able to wait patiently is a beautiful quality, admirable to those around you.  Why not ponder this great question…. “At the end of each day, remember the things you have waited for throughout the day.  What did you wait for patiently?  Where did you lose patience?  Listen to what God wants to say to you about your waiting.”  (Adele Calhoun, Invitations from God)

 Nancy Abbott serves as Chaplain for the YMCA of Greater San Antonio.