Article May 10, 2010 Issue

Lessons on staying in the moment

BY KERSTYN BATTENBERG

WHILE MY TENNIS SKILLS ARE LESS THAN PERFECT, watching the sport has always been enjoyable and inspiring. I recently had the opportunity to attend a professional tennis tournament and watch some of the world's most accomplished players compete. As with many sporting events, I found it fun to parallel the competition I was watching to lessons that I am learning in my own life about prayer, healing, and listening to God's guidance.

The first match that I watched was between a young player and one who was more experienced. Soon, the more experienced player had taken the lead and was ahead by an entire set.

What were the qualities of this athlete? What was it that was enabling him to dominate on the court? Dominion, power, strength—yes. But there was another glaring difference between the two athletes. The more experienced player never showed a reaction to his mistakes. Throughout the match, he remained calm and seemingly unaffected. When he would make a mistake and hit the ball out of the court, he would go back to the service line and await the next ball.