By Tanya Jolliffe
I suffered an injury during a volleyball tournament in my junior year of college. Amid a drawn-out volley, I dove to the right and extended my arm to try and save a ball. The complete extension of my arm mixed with the force with which I hit the floor caused a partial rotator cuff tear in my shoulder, not good for effective overhead spikes and serves. As I pulled my arm back in while still on the floor, it felt extremely heavy and like I had little control over my arm movements. The coach called a time-out and quickly made a substitution and asked me a pointed question. “If this were the national tournament, could you play?” I stood there staring at her a bit dazed by all that was happening. My lack of an answer caused her to look me square in the eyes, repeat the question with her purpose for asking. “If this were the national tournament, could you play? I’m trying to determine the extent of your injury.” I answered with a less than convincing reply that I would try my best just as it was my turn to rotate back into the game. I tried. It didn’t go well, and I sat out the rest of the tournament with ice on my shoulder. Luckily the injury wasn’t something that would require surgery, just limited use so my body could heal.
As I missed each practice, I worried about how long my shoulder would take to heal. Would it be healed in time to rejoin my team in our quest to qualify for the national tournament? What if I can’t return and it prevents the team from reaching their goal? My head swirled day after day with worry about things I had no control over while totally forgetting what scripture told me. “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:6-7 ESV).
It was during this time that I learned the importance of developing inner strength. Today this would be referred to as resiliency which the Merriam-Webster dictionary defines as, “an ability to recover from or adjust easily to adversity or change.” During this uncertain time of recovery, my guiding scripture was Philippians 4:13 (ESV), “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” While I couldn’t practice with the team, I was able to work on other skills and cardio activities to help ensure I was physically ready to return to gameplay when my shoulder healed. Thankfully the road to recovery only lasted a couple of weeks and my team did reach their goal. This month marks the 35th anniversary of our trip to the NAIA national tournament.
It doesn’t matter if we are dealing with an injury as an athlete, facing trials at home or work, or coping with strained relationships, we all usually face a trying situation at one time or another in our lives. Many times, we don’t know what we are made of until we are put to the test. “For you, O God, have tested us; you have tried us as silver is tried” (Psalm 66:10 ESV). It is during difficult and challenging times that we are provided the opportunity to develop our inner strength and resiliency.
Did you know Jesus had to develop his inner strength and resiliency too? As he knew his time on the cross was drawing near, he went to a place called Gethsemane with several of his disciples. He told them, “My soul is very sorrowful, even to death…and going a little farther he fell on his face and prayed, saying, ‘My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will. Again, for the second time, he went away and prayed, “My Father, if this cannot pass unless I drink it, your will be done. He went away and prayed for a third time, saying the same words again” (Matthew 26:38-39, 42, 44 ESV).
Jesus understands our doubts, fears, and desires to not have to go through a trial. He also set an example for us that prayer is a powerful tool to help us build the inner strength we need to be obedient to what is asked and expected of us. “For this reason, I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have the strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God” (Ephesians 3:14-19 ESV).
If we are filled with the fullness of God, we will have the inner strength and resiliency we need to see us through any trial or situation we face.
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