Column: Game Day with Gooch

After venting last week about baseball free agency — which, thankfully, pushed forward with Manny Machado’s agreement to join the San Diego Padres — I thought I’d get to a more personal, spiritual side.

My church back home in California remodeled about six years ago. Before they did, there was a Bible verse discreetly painted on a side wall of the
sanctuary.

“Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever,” Hebrews 13:8.

Even though life can seemingly be a revolving door of ups and downs, especially in college, Jesus promises one thing: He will be constant.

Too often, I find myself hoping and praying that I could remain in certain seasons of my life forever. And by seasons, I mean anything from a good day to an awesome weekend to a semester full of growth.

But seasons change. For me, there have been seasons of spiritual drifting, shame, depression and pain, mixed in with spiritual growth, confidence, peace, joy and more.

As an athlete, peaks and valleys are not a foreign concept. Gaining or halting momentum in sports can be a critical aspect in determining success or failure.

I’m not a sports psychology major, but my feelings can directly affect my game. 

When I feel frustrated or inferior to the competition, it is so much more difficult to achieve results. 

But when I’m on cloud nine and feel that no one can stop me, the quality of my performance skyrockets.

Over the past year, I have tried to keep a consistent mentality every moment I am on a competitive field of play. 

In the same way, I’ve found myself attempting to navigate the ups and downs of every other aspect of my life. 

Spiritually, socially, emotionally, academically — in each area, there have been times where things have turned out better than I could have possibly imagined. 

Then there are times I have fallen from the heights and I think, “Is there any way I can just stay on the mountaintop forever?”  

The answer is inevitably no.

No, Francis Chan or Nick Vujicic will not be guests at every Convocation. 

No, the Flames will not win every athletic competition from here to the end of the year — let alone the end of the week.

No, you cannot stay at Liberty with these awesome people forever. 

No, you will not get an A on every project.

I could let my emotions dictate my attitude and get depressed whenever I hit the decline from a season of happiness and growth. And, I admit, this is my default human reaction.

In a way, it’s natural. As soon as I start reminiscing about how awesome something was, I want to be there again, doing it again.

But I don’t have a DeLorean and a friend named Doc Brown. Every moment I get to experience is the first and only time I get to experience it.

I have a choice, though. 

I have a choice to embrace the mundane moments of life as much as those that I want to replay in my head over and over again. 

I have a choice to give God thanks in all circumstances as instructed in 1 Thessalonians 5:18 — even the circumstances that don’t feel as important or
memorable.

I won’t always choose to face life the best way, as my inconsistent commitment to righteousness is as palpable as the peaks and valleys I will encounter in the future.

But that’s just another reason to remember Hebrews 13:8 and lean on a Savior who is the same yesterday, today and forever.