God's Coaching #357

God's Coaching #357

A boy going blind helped the USC football team to truly see. In the fall of 2009, Jake Olson, a big University of Southern California football fan, received some terrible news: he was about to go completely blind. When Jake was one year old, cancerous tumors in both of his eyes forced doctors to remove his left eye. They saved his right one with chemotherapy and radiation. But when Jake turned 12, the cancer in his right eye returned a ninth time and couldn’t be treated.

Jake’s last wish before sight-ending surgery was to attend a USC football game. When former USC coach Pete Carroll heard about Jake, he invited him to practice. The team quickly fell in love with the skinny 12-year-old, who became an unofficial team mascot. He got to hang out with players in the locker room, give pep talks, and even walk down the steps of Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum with the team before a home game. After a successful surgery, Jake returned to USC, to the delight of the Trojans. Since then, he has stayed in touch with various USC players and Pete, who became the Seattle Seahawks’ head coach in 2010. “Jake just reminded me that life is fragile,” Trojans quarterback Matt Barkley told ESPN.com in December 2010. “To take advantage of every opportunity you get, whether it’s twelve games, thirteen games, whether it’s your life—you never know when it’s going to be gone.”

What’s the Score?

Jake taught Matt and his USC teammates a valuable life lesson: life is short and unpredictable. We need to understand this too. We are not guaranteed good health or a certain number of years on earth. We could be gone tomorrow or live until we’re 100 years old. Only God knows the number of our days.

Rather than frighten us, this thought should humble us and help us think more clearly. Since we have a limited amount of time on earth, we should fill those days with activities that glorify God. In Psalm 90, Moses pondered the greatness of God and the shortness of human life. He came away asking God for wisdom to live in a manner pleasing to the Lord. May we do the same!

On the Ball

Write out three life goals you’d like to accomplish for God’s glory. Put the paper in a place you can remember. Pray that God would help you achieve those goals, if they’re his will.

Coach’s Comment

Teach us to realize the brevity of life, so that we may grow in wisdom. Psalm 90:12