the    sides

I hated wrestling in middle school. It was part of that medieval torture they call PE class - every boy in the school was taught wrestling.

I hated it.

“It’s a sport about strategy and technique, gentlemen!” the coach would boom. He was full of crap. It’s about power. The stronger you are, the better you are. And I didn’t have much power in middle school. I was tall, lanky, could run most of the time without tripping.

Now, I’m older, more mature and wiser and……

I still hate wrestling. And it’s still not about stragety and technique. And it’s still about power and who has it. So as I’m wrestling with God, it’s a foregone conclusion who is going to win this.

Oh, I might win a point or two (or at least think I’ve won) by escaping His hold. I’ll numb the wrestling with noise or friends or stuff. And I’ll honestly believe that I’m ‘winning.’ But I’m not. And thankfully He loves me too much to leave me there for too long.

But the wrestling is exhausting. And I’m learning that the stuff I’m wrestling God over isn’t worth it. He’s probably dumbfounded that I am wrestling as hard as I am over something that I really don’t need. I’ll leave this match with a limp that somehow God will even use that wound for His purposes and glory.

Sometimes there is great honor in surrendering, isn’t there?

What are you wrestling over?