Playing Through Hurt and Pain

Plaxico Burress, wide receiver for the New York Giants, aggravated a preseason injury by spraining his ankle against the Green Bay Packers on Sept. 16, 2007. The leading wide receiver had what they call a "bum ankle injury." Each week, the injury report had him as questionable to play. However what impressed me throughout the season was that Burress always showed up to play, hurt, in pain, and all, Burress played.

Doubt filled the NFL community as we pondered on how effective he would be down the stretch. Questions like, "why not sit out the season, go for surgery to repair the ankle, and be ready for the next season?" filled our minds. Could it be that because of his injury, he was affecting the team negatively? As I watched some of the Giants games, I would hear comments from sports analysts saying, "A healthy Burresss could not have dropped that ball, " or "The reason why Eli is struggling to connect with his wide receiver is because they do not practice together during the week." You see, Burress, most times, did not practice during the week to allow the ankle to rest. He only showed up on game day. He did the best he could in each game, but was "the best he could" good enough for him and his teammates?

What causes a man to play hurt and in pain every week even when his team is sometimes struggling during the season?

Please allow me to given you my own assumptions, as I tie them up with biblical examples of people who showed the same resilience Burress has shown all season long:

* Faith in the vision: No NFL player goes to training camp to step on the field just to play the game. Every player has one goal in mind-to win the super bowl. Probably when Burress was hurt, he may have thought his season would be over, but that did not stop him from playing. He weighed his options. How much pain was he willing to handle to see this dream realized of going to Glendale, Arizona? That question was answered each week when he stepped on the field. Though there were times he did not have a great game, the fact that he showed up, willing to play through the pain, was a game he won in his heart-not on the field. Playing in and winning the super bowl drove him past his pain.

Biblical Example: My all time Hero is Jesus Himself. Of Jesus, Hebrews 12: 2 states, "Fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him, endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down as the right hand of the father." The vision, the passion, and the love for humanity drove Christ to the cross. He endured the pain to see humanity being set free. The results outweighed the pain and most of us are enjoying the benefits of one man because pain did not stop Him!!!

Question for us? What pain is stopping us from fulfilling the vision God has given us?

* Understanding the times: Every NFL player knows that each season you play the game is precious. Players have had to step away from the game because of an injury. There is also no guarantee that the team you are playing for in the season will be the same team you will be playing for the next season. Burress had played for the Steelers prior to playing for the Giants and he was let go as a free agent. The year Burress was released from the Steelers, the Steelers won the super bowl. Ouch! Now with the Giants, it was a matter of understanding what opportunity gives you, even with pain.

The awareness that life does not given you too many opportunities allows you to work through pain and move on! Of Understanding the times, Burress had this to say after winning the NFC championship game. “I said to myself, 'If I ever get back to this opportunity again, I would take full advantage of it.'" He got his opportunity, after having lost two AFC championship games before joining the Giants. This time, he won!

Biblical Example: I Chronicles 12: 32 states, "And of the children of Issachar, men that had understanding of the times, to know what Israel ought to do..." The sons of Issachar are given the designation of having understanding of the times they lived in. And with that understanding, they were able to stir the nation in the right direction. Understanding the times is critical in this journey called life because it is with understanding that we are able to walk through life with purpose and vision, regardless of what pain we are going through.

Question for us: Do we have the understanding of the times we are living in to forgo the pain that life sometimes presents?

* Having Faith in Self: There were critics throughout the season who doubted Burress, yours truly included. Probably the only person who had faith in Burress was Burress. Let the whole world doubt him, but he would not doubt himself. The faith in self may have outweighed the doubters and the pain he felt. He was determined to win each game and it showed. As the team prepared to play against Green Bay, Burress made a declaration to his receiver's coach, "I told him to forget about getting to the doorstep. 'Let's kick the door open.'" A person with this kind of mindset and faith in self is a person who has learned to play the game with hurt and pain.

Biblical Example: David comes to mind when I think of someone having faith in self. I Samuel 30: 6 states, "And David strengthened himself, in the Lord, His God." With the possibility of losing his "teammates" because of the calamity that had befallen them, David had to encourage himself, believe in himself because he knew what kind of God He served. His faith in self was built on the foundation of faith in God.

Question for us? How much mustard seed faith do we have in ourselves to overcome the pain we go through?

Having played all season through the pain and the hurt, Burress was mentally ready to play on the second greatest stage in the NFL. Burress outplayed a healthy player who was guarding him. Burress caught more passes and run for more yards in a single game, 11 catches, for 154 yards, than he did in three games combined during the regular season, let allow the two playoff games were he had 5 catches for 48 yards total. He is now super bowl bound, the vision that started it all along! I am rooting for him and the Giants to win it all!!!!! It was worth the hurt and pain!

One Heart Beat Away from Playing

The last time Todd Collins, the 2nd string quarterback for the Washington Redskins played a game, let alone, as a stating quarterback, was back in 1997. In 2007, ten years later, Collins would be starting as quarterback in the ninth game of the season because Jason Campbell, the staring quarterback, had gone down with a knee injury. Collin's number was called to lead the team to a possible playoff berth.

The Skins were at the brink of elimination from the playoffs when Collins took over and he did not miss a beat. He led the Skins to four straight wins and a trip to the playoffs after not playing in ten years. TEN YEARS! Even though the Skins lost to the Settle Seahawks in the first round of the wild card game, Collins was a winner in my books!

The Newscasters had said, “Since taking over for Campbell, Collins has exceeded expectations. In four games, Collins completed 67-of-105 passes for 888 yards, five touchdowns and no interceptions. His QB rating: 106.4.” For one who had not played the game in that long of a time, this was impressive. Most current starting quarterbacks who have played longer than Collins don’t even have the statistics Collins has to their credit.

How was Collins able to get to this point? Answer-Preparation!

It is said that “Collins' success can be found in his work ethic. He rarely saw action on game days, but he practiced and prepared like a starter every day.” WOW! I do not know how many people, yours truly included, in today’s world, would be willing to go out day in and day out working hard at what they do if they knew that they may never be called upon, never get recognized, or never get a promotion. Todd Collins beat the odds. He prepared and practiced like a starter every single day with the possibility of never seeing action on the field. However, when the opportunity came, he proved that he was ready.

Former Skins Head Coach Joe Gibbs said this of Collins "What has shown up on the field is the same thing that has shown up in his preparation during all of those weeks when he never got to play. He was extremely well prepared and mentally into everything, even at practice.” If Collins had not committed himself to practice and preparation, he may have gotten the chance to start games, but one is left to wonder how long he would have lasted if preparation was not a factor.

Preparation is not only required in sports. Preparation should be a lifestyle. II Timothy 4: 2 encourages us to be “prepared in season and out of season.”

Most of us fail at the preparation stage because we do not see the immediate results. Preparation carries with it a connotation of working hard, being ready, and equipped and the person responsible for preparation is you and I. Preparation is personal. I am reminded of the ten virgins in Matthew 25: 1-13 who started off on a journey to meet the bridegroom. At the end of the story, it is recorded that of the ten, only five virgins had oil to sustain them when the groom came. The other five were not so fortunate; because of their lack of preparation, they missed out of the very thing that they had set the hearts and mind to attend. In verse 10 of Chapter 25, it reads:

And while they were going away to make the purchase (the unprepared five), the bridegroom came, and those who were ready (prepared) went in with him to the wedding feast; and the door was shut. "Later the other virgins also came, saying, `Lord, lord, open up for us.' "But he answered, `Truly I say to you, I do not know you.' 13 "Be on the alert (prepared) then, for you do not know the day nor the hour.” (Inclusions in parenthesis and emphasis mine)

Many a time as people, we refuse to prepare subconsciously because we are waiting for a table laid out, ready for us to partake of the goods on it. Most times, that is not the case; we need to prepare and work for what we hope to have on the table. Consider this-sometimes we do not worship in our personal lives and yet expect to be the next worship leader at the church. We want to preach in the pulpits of our churches when we do not take the time to prepare to share God’s good news with the person down the street. We expect financial breakthroughs in our lives when we do not prepare to give of our finances when we are given the opportunity.

Preparation is key to doors being opened for us when we stay faithful, even when we do not see a positive outcome.

Asked how Collins kept focused on the game of football having not played in ten years, his response was telling of a man who understands what it means to prepare in life:

"Number one, it is your job. Even if you're not playing, it is your job to be prepared…you don't want to let your team down. It is one thing to let yourself down, but it is also another thing to let your teammates down. When you step in the huddle, those guys are depending on you."

As people, more so as children of God, we need to always be prepared in every area of life. It be school, chores, relationships, we need to be prepared because there are people who are depending on us for their next direction in life and if we fail to prepare for them, we let them down.

Preparation can be frustrating but it is worth it. Collins said what motivated him to prepare as though he would start a game each Sunday was this:

“No one knows when your opportunity is going to come, so that's what makes you stay consistent in the preparation--I believed that if I continued to work hard and hang around long enough, I was going to get my chance. When my chance came, I wanted to be ready."

My prayer is that we have an attitude like Collins has-always prepared so that when the doors to life’s success are opened before us, we will be ready. Opportunities in life do not come that often. We need to learn to be ready through the process of preparation.

Of Collins, one of the coaches said: “This man prepares every day because he knows he is one heart beat away from playing."

Are we one heart beat away playing for God?