{"id":5944,"date":"2016-10-11T07:21:44","date_gmt":"2016-10-11T12:21:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.elca.org\/faithlens\/?p=5944"},"modified":"2016-10-05T07:55:40","modified_gmt":"2016-10-05T12:55:40","slug":"october-16-2016","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.elca.org\/faithlens\/october-16-2016\/","title":{"rendered":"October 16, 2016–Faith and Persistence: Winning Combination"},"content":{"rendered":"

Ellen Rothweiler, Des Moines, IA
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Warm-up Question<\/strong><\/p>\n

What does persistence mean to you? Have you ever had to work very hard to do well at something? Have you ever given up when something was difficult? What made the difference between keeping at it and giving it up?<\/p>\n

Faith and Persistence:\u00a0 Winning Combination<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"shutterstock_189871313\"<\/a>Athletes work hard for many years to excel in their chosen sport. With practice and conditioning, working as a team and working on individual skills, they focus a lot of time and energy on this part of their life. Some have the benefit of natural talent and others must work very hard to compete with their peers. Persistence is often what leads to success for these athletes. Working hard day after day, never giving up, and believing that they can achieve their goals if they put in the time.<\/p>\n

So what if the worst should happen? Injury? Illness? Not getting into that college? Was all that hard work for nothing? Where does that energy to strive for greatness go? In Ryan Brant\u2019s case that spirit of persistence is what kept him going when the worst happened. Ryan was a top-ranked lacrosse goalie in college, but then suffered several serious injuries that eventually ended his lacrosse career. He was lost in pain and depression. \u201cWhen I realized I couldn\u2019t play anymore, it was a difficult time because I was dealing with a loss of self-identity,\u201d Brant said.<\/p>\n

Luckily Brant had the financial and emotional support of his family during this difficult time. However, he realized that many athletes in similar circumstances aren\u2019t so lucky. \u00a0Universities are not required to pay for athlete\u2019s medical bills. Brant took his spirit of persistence and poured it into a nonprofit foundation called Positive Strides<\/a>. This foundation works with care providers to provide the support and care that athletes need for what comes next in life after injury. It\u2019s a calling Brant likely wouldn\u2019t have heard of if not for his injuries and his already having the skills to make something like this happen. \u201cI didn\u2019t give up because it\u2019s not in my nature,\u201d Brant said. \u201cYou have to dig deep down inside and find the sense of pride [and] identify who you want to be after athletics is taken from you.\u201d<\/p>\n

Discussion Questions<\/strong><\/p>\n