SPORTS May 12, 2008 Issue

A COACH'S SPIRITUAL PREP WORK

KERSTYN BATTENBERG

LAST SUMMER, I was given the opportunity to go back to the college I'd graduated from to work as an assistant volleyball coach for the fall season.

When I was first approached about coaching, I'd been working at a full-time job that was less than fulfilling, so I felt going back to my alma mater would be rewarding. But I wondered about the "temporary-ness" of the position. I was anxious to find my place in the world and establish a life somewhere. I also had doubts about my coaching abilities because I'd been away from volleyball for quite a few years. What advice could I offer the team? My skills seemed too rusty to add much value to the staff. I didn't know how I'd maintain my peace as I coached, and remain undistracted by so many worries.

As I relied on prayer for clarity, the idea from Science and Health that "trials are proofs of God's care" (p. 66) kept resurfacing. I soon realized that although I'd read this phrase many times, I'd never fully understood what it meant. Why the heck would God show us He cares for us by setting us in the middle of a trial?