One minute you’re basking in the glory of that 3-pointer, goal or spike, taking in the cheering crowd and the adrenaline pulsing through you, and the next you’re at your lowest: the ground. You’ve been sidelined, forced to watch someone else fill your role and enjoy all that you’ve enjoyed with the sport. This is an athlete’s biggest fear, and unfortunately it can be a reoccurring one. However, the biggest battle that comes with injuries is a spiritual one.

When I had ACL Reconstruction I questioned God immensely. I was living for Him, or so I thought, and sports were my life, how could He be so cruel as to take that away from me? I also struggled with the question of if He gave me this athletic talent, why won’t he let me use it? It wasn’t until about halfway through my recovery that I heard an analogy and my eyes were opened. It goes like this:

There once was a sheep dearly loved by a shepherd. This shepherd took such great care of the sheep and always sought to make sure no harm would come to it. He provided it with love and anything it needed. However, the sheep kept running away from the shepherd. Day after day, the shepherd would go running after the sheep and would retrieve it. Finally, one day the shepherd broke the sheep’s legs after he had retrieved it yet again. The sheep could now no longer run away from the shepherd and had to fully rely on the shepherd.

Now I’m not saying that you or I have “strayed” from God, but what I found was that I wasn’t fully relying on God. I was relying on my own talents and strength to get me through life. I was living a life that revolved solely around sports. It took tearing my ACL to quite literally knock me off my feet and get me to fully rely on God to be my strength.

Sports were my identity, something I had done for pleasure but also something I expected I would always be able to do. When I was injured, this was ripped from me and I was forced to find a new identity. Although the screws drilled into my bone caused horrific pain, they caused a pain that brought a new beginning. The screws held in position a piece of me, my patella, in the place of something old, my torn ACL. My new ACL was made of a piece of me, but it was forced into a different place than it usually resided. I was still me, but I had to find a new place, one that wasn’t on the court or field.

I hope this article allows you to understand that a short time without playing is okay, you have time to get stronger elsewhere, physically and spiritually. Being injured allowed me to finally sit back and place a perspective on sports. Yes they are fun, yes they were something I lived for, but are they everything like I thought they were? Absolutely not, but I know God has used them in incredible ways throughout my life. This injury allowed me to see that God has brought many blessings from sports that I can extend elsewhere into my life.

I’m not going to lie to you, injuries make you face moments of extreme sadness and doubt, especially when you watch your teammates or when you’re going through tough points in your rehab. However, these are moments when you’re reminded of the incredible things that the Lord has in store for you. Through injuries He gave you the time to take a step back and see the world through His eyes, one where He has endless possibilities to work in your life. Your perspective will change along with your identity. Through your weakness He will make you strong.

This is the verse I turned to in the darkest points of my rehab:

Deuteronomy 31:8 The LORD himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.