Teaming up with God on the court

Craig Mattison began playing volleyball and competing in tournaments in high school, in his hometown of Naperville, Illinois. During his senior year, Craig was recruited to play volleyball at Ball State University, in Indiana. As an outside attacker on the university's varsity team, Craig played in more than seventy matches in his two and a half years on the team, while keeping up with his studies in the field of finance. The Herald caught up with Craig, now a senior at Ball State, to talk about a sport he loves, and how prayer got him through some challenging times on the court.

What do you enjoy most about volleyball?

For one thing, volleyball is a really graceful sport. There's a lot of fluidity in the way the players move. It also requires a lot of focus and concentration. You need to be on edge, prepared for every point. It's a team sport, so one person can't dominate the game. The rules require that three people on your team touch the ball before it goes over the net. I think there's a spiritual lesson in that. Just as those of us on volleyball teams rely on our teammates to help score points in a game, each of us has a partner in every aspect of our life. We have a teammate in God. We can rely on Him to get us through anything.

How do you play without fear in a tough match?

I can remember one time in high school, during the sectional playoffs, we were going up against a team that had competed very well against us during the year. The guys on my team were aware that I place my trust in God, and before the game got started they asked me to say a prayer. It came to me to say the 23rd Psalm. We all huddled around and I began to recite it as best as I could. The part that says, “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me,”— that idea of God being our companion wherever we are — helped me, and allayed whatever fears our team was taking into the match.

What if two competing athletes or teams are praying for a successful outcome?

That's a good question. Obviously, we wanted to win, and if we used our skills on the court to their fullest, we often did. But I've learned to have respect for my opponents, and to be satisfied with a match where the competition has been intense, and two teams are giving it their all. I think that's a great game in itself, regardless of the outcome.

Did you have any healings of sports injuries?

I had an amazing healing at the Junior National Championship in New Orleans, Louisiana, during my senior year in high school. There were about forty volleyball courts set up in the convention center there, with games in progress on all of them. The courts have what they call a “sport court surface,” which is a special plastic-like surface that is laid over concrete. It makes for a hard surface, and it's not great for your knees, especially when you're playing a four-day tournament.

The previous year, at the same tournament, I'd had a big problem with soreness in my knees, and I was forced to sit out a few matches. I left the tournament very frustrated by the fact that this had limited the time I was able to spend on the court, because I love playing.

When I want back to the tournament in New Orleans the following summer, I knew the courts would be set up the same way, on top of concrete. But I was determined not to submit to the idea that my knees could become sore or painful. I just knew God was the only power, and my creator. God was the author of perfection, or health.

The result was that I had absolutely no pain in my knees that year. I credit that to God. I had the best tournament. After it was over, I was named to the All-American Team.

Was your prayer like willing yourself to be OK?

No, actually my prayer focused on the fact that I couldn't allow myself to be tempted by the negative thoughts of the previous year. I knew that God had given me the ability to “take possession” of my body, and “govern its feeling and action” (see Science and Health, p. 393 ). So at the tournament it was me and God every step of the way — every jump, every landing, every block, every spike.

What about playing at the college level?

Before I was recruited to play volleyball at Ball State University, the coach knew that I was a Christian Scientist. It was something we had talked about before I even started at the university.

The coaches and trainers asked how I would deal with injuries. I told them I'd had eighteen years of healings as a Christian Scientist, and that I would continue to rely on prayer in college, if I had an injury. They were OK with that.

Although I was able to go through college relatively injury free, I did have a problem when one of my toes kept jamming. It was difficult to run and jump, and I wondered if my toe was fractured or bruised.

I allowed the trainers to look at it because that's their job, and I wanted to relieve them of whatever concerns or reservations they might have. They offered to do a whole bunch of exercises and wrappings on it, but I told them that I'd be dealing with it on my own, with God. I think everybody on the training staff was aware of my method of healing, so I received no complaints from them. Everyone was really willing to let me heal it in the way I chose.

I prayed a lot about the quotation in the Bible from Isaiah that says, “But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint (40:31 ). It says to me that when we have faith in God — wait on God — we have strength. I wrote the Bible passage on a piece of paper and actually stuck it in my shoes. It reminded me that every step of the way I was walking with God; I wasn't walking on my own.

A couple of days later I was playing again. And I never had a problem again with the toe.

Do you have any final words for athletes?

Keep a humble attitude. Whatever sport you play, remember that it's a partnership out there — between you and God.