{"id":6761,"date":"2018-04-17T07:27:55","date_gmt":"2018-04-17T12:27:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.elca.org\/faithlens\/?p=6761"},"modified":"2018-04-11T14:49:49","modified_gmt":"2018-04-11T19:49:49","slug":"april-22-2018-joy-freedom","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.elca.org\/faithlens\/april-22-2018-joy-freedom\/","title":{"rendered":"April 22, 2018–With Joy and Freedom"},"content":{"rendered":"

Erin Haligowski, Dayton, OH<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Warm-up Question<\/strong><\/p>\n

Who are the people in your life who have had the most tremendous influence on who you are as a person and how you live your life and faith? What is it that makes\/made those people influential?<\/p>\n

With Joy and Freedom<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Pastors, teachers, grandparents, aunts and uncles, and coaches: so many people significantly influence our life and faith as we are \u201cbecoming\u201d and growing into who God created us to be. It takes a special kind of love, engagement, and patience to shapepeople over a long period of time.<\/p>\n

For fans of college basketball, this year\u2019s March Madness tournament was truly<\/em> madness. Upsets and underdogs, buzzer-beaters and overtime \u2013 and underneath all the chaos, some truly inspiring stories \u2013 especially if you\u2019re willing to dig a little. Take, for example, NCAA Division II Women\u2019s Basketball, and the undefeated Eagles of Ashland University (Ashland, Ohio). The 2017 National Champions had built for themselves a 73-game winning streak under the leadership of head coach Robin Fralick \u2013 the fifth longest win streak in NCAA basketball history, any division, men\u2019s or women\u2019s.<\/p>\n

As they went into their Final Four matchup, Coach Robin Fralick told the girls to \u201cplay with joy and freedom,\u201d and in that game, that is exactly what those girls did. They played an incredible game that led them to back-to-back National Championship games. And then, in a heartbreaking loss to Central Missouri, the historic winning streak and second-in-a-row perfect season came to an end.<\/p>\n

In the post-game press conference, Coach Robin Fralick had these words to say:\u00a0 “We talked in the locker room after the game; one game doesn’t define us. Our purpose is bigger than winning and losing. Being good at basketball doesn’t make you a role model. Being good at basketball gives you a platform to impact. I’m proud of them.” These words are so characteristic of Coach Fralick, who focuses as much on character as she does on basketball fundamentals and winning.<\/p>\n

Read More about the Ashland University Women\u2019s Basketball team here:<\/p>\n