Article March 11, 2013 Issue

Courtside prayer

Jeffrey Lewis

One Sunday several months ago, I was having a great time expressing God while playing basketball. I was thinking about reflecting Him as Spirit, through qualities like strength, speed, and joy. My team was playing a good game, and I was running up and down the court just being glad for the chance to play.

Toward the end of the game, one of my teammates stole the ball at one end of the floor. I ran up with him on the fast break and got past my defender. My teammate passed the ball to me. I leaped up to grab the ball, but when I came down I landed on my knee awkwardly. I felt a sharp pain and fell down. I got up almost immediately and forced myself to hop to the bench. My coach and teammates asked me if I was OK, and I told them I just needed to rest for a little bit.

At first, I tried to simply shrug it off and ignore what had happened. I continued to root and cheer for my teammates. However, the pain only grew worse. Soon I realized that simply ignoring it was not the right thing to do.

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