"The fear of the Lord is the beginning of Knowledge... " (Proverbs 1:7, NAS).
Bear with me... I know that even mentioning this lady makes every Christian woman secretly cringe. She did it all! She was a super hero to her household, and her works extended far beyond the confines of her home.
She was creative, smart, strong, loving, good at business and she could cook too. So, in light of her varied talents, instead of being intimidated by her abilities, I thought it'd be interesting and insightful to use her as a role model for the aspiring Christian coach.
Therefore, I've taken the creative liberty to paraphrase Proverbs 31:10-31 as if this amazing woman were a coach.
- An excellent coach, who can find? Her worth is so much more than money.
- The heart of her team trusts in her, and they will continue to prosper because of her.
- She does them good and not evil all the days of her life.
- She looks for ways to creatively bless her team, and she is joyful in her work.
- She spares nothing that is within her power that would bless her players.
- She leads them by sacrificially loving and serving them with her whole heart.
- She handles her resources well. She is a good steward of time, energy, and money.
- She takes good care of her own body and she practices what she preaches.
- She is wise and discerning, always looking out for the well being of her players.
- She creates beautiful and useful things in order to bless her players.
- She is always gracious and merciful, reaching out to any player who needs extra love.
- She is not afraid of adversity, because she is spiritually prepared for trials.
- She guards her heart, and she walks daily with grace and nobility as her clothing.
- Her team has an honorable reputation and is well thought of by others.
- She works for and promotes the welfare of other programs and athletic teams.
- Strength and dignity are her clothing, and she smiles at the future.
- She opens her mouth in wisdom, and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue.
- She looks well to the ways of her team, and does not stop working for their good.
You may be saying to yourself, "Impossible! There's no way anyone can coach like that woman. My players do what I say because they fear me. I'm not very kind to them because they might take advantage of me. I'm tough on them for their own good.
Athletics is about hard work, discipline and competing well. I wish I could motivate them without being harsh or overly demanding. I'd love to love and be loved by my players, but there's no way I could coach like this lady and win." Well, I believe that God desires for us to coach like this remarkable woman. No, I'm not crazy! Using this dynamic lady as our coaching role model, we could be transformed into women of excellence, worthy of praise, beloved coaches.
Prayer
Dear Lord, give us wisdom and insight into ways of coaching that glorify You. Help us to lay at Your feet every closely held idea about how we should coach. Teach us, Holy Spirit.
