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Tuesday, April 12, 2005

With wedding preparations also comes moving preparations. It's a time when I get to discover all of the things I stuck in boxes and forgot about. Such is the case when my parents handed me two of my boxes that were in their attic. I haven't opened one of the boxes, but it's huge. The other one I got from them on Sunday and opened it that evening. It was filled with plaques and trophies. I remember putting those things away about 4 years ago when I graduated high school. It was a much different time in my life and my view of life and what it was about was much different as well. I had been a successful cross country and track runner and fairly athletic through my teenage years so the plaques and trophies were my prized possessions. The box had "IMPORTANT: DO NOT THROW OUT OR SELL" scribbled in magic marker across the top. First of all, who would have wanted to buy someone else's plaque or trophy? It just shows how important they were to me.
As I sifted through the plaques and trophies, I was flooded with memories of cross country races and the way I led my team. I remembered being honored as a Student of the Month of my whole high school and how my cross country coach, also math teacher, encouraged me through it all. I stared at a softball with all of my stats from my 7th grade team and the trophy we won as a team in 8th grade when we finished first after a tough game.
But they don't matter now. They're only past memories and clutter, but I still struggled to throw them away. I put three of my sports plaques away and threw out the rest of the clunky trophies. What will I ever do with them?
It reminds me of the sermon Pastor Mark gave this past Sunday. He talked about the things we put to death and buried when we began following Christ and how often we dig those things back up and want to play with them. The things that used to be so important to us have been buried with Christ. I would hope that the pride that I had, the obnoxious, sometimes over-the-top competitiveness I had, have been buried and remain there, but as I looked at the trophies, I knew that at least some of the pride was still there. I was good. Really good.
I found the NCAA sports clearance sheet in my closet the other day; proof that I was eligible to compete in college sports. I never followed through with it because I wanted to focus on school. Thank goodness I didn't go through with it because I know for a fact that my life would have been completely different. I would've stayed that prideful runner who looked down her nose at people who called her sport "track." I would've remained the person who coveted her chiseled calves and tight stomach (still wish I could get back there, but then again, who would I be if I was?). The life I lived prior to college was much more selfish, but it was Christ who pulled me out of it and in July of 2002, I was baptized; my public confession of faith. I turned my life over to Christ.
My past trophies are buried with Christ and I hope they stay there. But I can see how I still hold on to some of that glory from 4 years ago.

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