Keep on Keeping on.
You don’t have to be a basketball fan to know that Toronto is abuzz over the Raptors’ move to the NBA finals. And I think you would have to be living under a rock not to recognize the name Kawhi Leonard.
As Emily spoke about perseverance on Sunday during the KidsZone moment, I couldn’t help think of Leonard. He and the Raptors were fresh in my mind after watching the series-clinching game the night before.
After Emily fiiinalllllly opened the jar, I recalled an interview with Leonard about his last season before coming to the Raptors. He was asked how he overcame one of the toughest episodes of his career to get to where he is now.
Kawhi Leonard pointed people to God:
“Yeah. Last year was a very down year for me. Was going through a lot, with everything that was going on,” Kawhi explained, referencing the injury and team change.
“God is good,” said Leonard, who has “Fear God, not them” tattooed on his right arm. “I prayed every day and then ended up getting healthy. Now I’m able to play basketball, and you could just see what He does for you.’’
Perseverance
Humility
Faith in God
Kawhi Leonard is known to be a man of very few words. He could have spoken about his intense work ethic, the hardships he has endured or his good luck, but in that situation he chose humility. He chose to give glory to God.
Perseverance, humility and faith in God are qualities not just for sports heroes, they apply also to you and me.
Perseverance means having persistence and tenacity. It means being resolute and unyielding while pursuing or following a course of action and for you and me, it means persevering in the faith despite the many obstacles.
Romans 5:3-5 “We rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.”
So friends, keep on keeping on!