Learning to Walk

team talks

I wonder if there are any sportsmen who wouldn't love a team talk like this each week?

I can't wait for tomorrow...

injured

We are playing Selkirk away today and I've had to make a call I prayed I wouldn't have to make this year; the call saying that an injury wasn't sufficiently recovered to play.  Earlier in the week I thought that if anything stopped me it would be my ankle, but it seems fine (ish).  Unfortunately, however, my hamstring isn't.  I've been trying to stretch it out and I could quite possibly jog around on it without too much discomfort.  But as soon as I begin to pick up the pace it becomes really uncomfortable to the extent that I'm concerned I'll make it worse.

Calling off is always a difficult thing for me, primarily because I find it difficult to decide if it's really as bad as I'm making out.  A common question for me is as to whether or not other players would make the same decision or am I just being 'soft'.  I think there have been times in the past when I've been over cautious - perhaps as a result of the fact that I wasn't particularly enjoying playing at the time - but this year I've got a real hunger back for playing and so I don't think that's the case now.

As I said I'd been praying that I wouldn't have to miss any games this season due to injury.  I'd also been praying for a miracle in healing for my ankle and hamstring because of the message it would send out to my team mates.  This raises interesting questions about prayer, like; "Did God hear the prayers I, and others, asked?  If He did why didn't he heal?" etc.  I believe that He did hear and I think it was fine to pray these prayers (as it was fine to pray for Scotland to win on Wednesday night!).  So why didn't I recover in time? I have two thoughts: First, I imagined that a miracle heal would have been the best witness to my team mates - but perhaps God has other plans for me with them (or others) today through being injured.  Second, the tension of the 'now and not yet'.  Does God want me to be injured?  I don't think so - I don't think He wants any of us to be ill or injured.  But we still live in that time when there will be outbreakings of the kingdom, seen in many ways - including healing - yet, until Christ's return, we'll need to live with the fact that that isn't always the case.

What will always be the case is that the Holy Spirit can speak to us - regardless of our situation.  I wonder what He has to say to me through mine today...

hawks vs stew mel

It was our first home game of the season on Saturday and after a last-play-of-the-game defeat in the season's opener we needed a win and a good performance.  We got both - even if the performance in victory was not at quite the same level of intensity as in defeat the previous week.

I turned my ankle early in the game and was pleased with myself that rather than taking a few minutes out I just got it strapped over my sock and played on until the 68th minute when I was given a rest.  It wasn't actually until later in the evening that I realised how swollen it was and this morning it is going a nice shade of black/blue/purple.  Thankfully I have a physio appointment this evening which will help quicken the recovery.  I also have an odd sensation in my left hamstring, the result of some sprints on Thursday night (props sprinting?!).  My guess is I won't train tomorrow so I've got a few days to sort both ankle and hammy out before the team run on Thursday.

I'm really enjoying playing and training at the moment so will do all I can to make sure it's fine for Saturday - which I'm sure it will be.  We have a tough away game at Selkirk... and I can't wait!

standards in public life

The news this summer, dominated as it was by the MP's expenses scandal, reminded us all of the fact that in high profile positions one's standards are there for all to see and scrutinise.  One group who quite naturally fall into such a position are professional sports people who adorn the pages of our newspapers on an almost daily basis for their choice of car, drink, lover or lifestyle.  So often it is footballers (and their WAGS) who dominate these stories but over recent years rugby has had a growing number of celebrity couples and pin up boys.   The raised profile of elite players has led to a rasing of the games overall profile - clearly a good thing - although it can also lead to far less glamorous or wanted stories.

Such an unglamorous story has, unfortunately, been dominating the back pages over the past few weeks.  'Bloodgate' has cast a shadow over Rugby Union in an unprecedented manner and the sport must now work hard to shine up its somewhat tainted image.  It also forces me to consider some of the actions that I have in the past or may in the future carry out in the name of the team.  For example, in rugby the game cannot go on if a front row player is injured.  This has led to the common practice of a front row player going down 'injured' at a strategically appropriate time, normally when his or her team are extremely short of breath!  The question I, as a front row player and captain am forced to ask is this: "Does this differ at all from faking a blood injury to bring a substituted player back on to the field?"  The short answer is 'not sure'.  In conversation with team mates we have discussed the fact that, ultimately, the 'injured' player receives treatment and the game will recommence - 15 on 15, no changes made.  Yet whilst this is the case the momentum that the opposition may have had will have been lost and, therefore, an unfair advantage will have been gained.

So what to do?  Everyone does it, it always has been done.  But hasn't God called me to live differently to the world?  To be in it but not to conform to its standards?

And so I have my answer.  No more tactical breathers.  But what about all the other areas where we push the laws of our great sport to the limit...

not a good start

Hawks were beaten yesterday, and in all honesty they were beaten quite convincingly (29-13), by a side that weren't all that good themselves.  Whilst there were positives, particularly the performance in the last 20 minutes when we came back from 29-3 down - scoring a couple of good tries, if we don't improve quickly it could turn into a bit of a slog.  We are playing the other newly promoted team next week, but they won yesterday so will be coming to Glasgow on a real high.

As I suspected would be the case, watching wasn't easy and I am tempted to make myself available for next week.  But to do that I need to be able to run much more pain free than I could earlier this week, and realistically I think it might be a week too early.  But we'll see.

Today, at church, is another first for me - and there have been a few with GV away over the summer.  This time it's leading a dedication of one of our babies.  I am struck by the huge privilege that this is, and am actually a little nervous - thoughts of Rowan Atkinson in Four Weddings and a Funeral spring to mind!  We also have one of the patron's of the church preaching at both services.  He is a top guy (we actually met up with him and his wife while we were away in Cyprus earlier in the summer) who now works for this organisation (I think...).  It will be good to see them both again, and to hear him preach at both of our services.

watching

Today is a big day for rugby in Glasgow with my club, Hawks, taking on the newly promoted West of Scotland at West in the first league game of the season.  From what I can make out West is a really great club - good team spirit, hard to play against, but friendly and welcoming off the park.  Having made a bit of a name for myself in the cup semi-final two years ago I was really looking forward to todays game, in fact it had been a great source of motivation for training over the summer.  But unfortunately injury struck, and the ribs aren't sufficiently recovered, and so I'll be watching from the sidelines.

The problem is; I hate watching.

today, tomorrow and monday

Today I'm playing in my third game in seven days and, despite being early in the season, my body (my ribs in particular) is feeling it!  But it is good to be back in and around rugby, and to get to know a new bunch of guys (there are a huge number of new - and young - players at Hawks this season).  This evening we are having a team social: BBQ and karaoke!  I actually organised this event when I saw how many new guys there were, although - due to the busy-ness of this week/weekend - I kind of wish that we had waited until after the first league game in a couple of weeks time.

Tomorrow is a busy day, but one that I'm really looking forward to.  We have called tomorrow's morning service 'Back to School Sunday' and will be praying for both the young people as they prepare to go back to nursery, school or college and also for the teachers and all other people working in schools.  Having been given the responsibility of leading this service I wasn't quite sure where it was going but God really led me throughout the week and over the course of tomorrow morning it will be a real team effort which, I pray, will be an encouragement to those heading back into schools (whatever their role) but also to the rest of us as we go about out daily lives walking with Jesus.  We also hope that people may bring school friends or colleagues along to the service so that we can pray for them at the start of the academic year, showing them that we (as a church) care about the every-day-lives of those in our community.

Then in the evening we are back into our series on 2nd Samuel, starting off mid-way through the seventh chapter.  It is a moving section, with much for us to learn from it, and I'm really looking forward to speaking from it.

Then, on Monday, I'm going to put my feet up for a few hours!

back to...

We got back late on Wednesday and it was straight back into things the next morning as I am preaching this morning and so needed to look at the passage and begin preparing.  I deliberately didn't take a record of what the passage was for this Sunday (Luke 10:25-37) on holiday with me because if I had I would have spent time away working on the sermon.  But despite the fact that I hadn't God has been preparing me for it through my own reading on holiday and also the conversations that we were having.  I have been so excited over the past couple of days seeing how God has been working in my life - even when I didn't know it!

I have also got back into rugby training and played 40 minutes in a 10-a-side tournament yesterday.  We won, which was good - especially as we had a lot of young lads playing, and it was good to get a run out (but I am feeling it this morning!).  Proper matches start next weekend and the first league game is at the end of the month.  I did some running on holiday which has clearly helped, in fact as I was running in 35 degrees + I actually found doing a pretty hard run on Thursday relatively easy!  I also didn't put any weight on and am looking forward to (hopefully) shedding a bit more between now and the start of the league.

So, a pretty good rest, but back to it now.  I'm really looking forward to the next wee bit and beyond.

pre-season training

I can't quite believe it but pre-season rugby training begins tomorrow!  I think it might actually be the earliest pre-season that I have ever been involved in, although my second season in pro rugby also had an early start.

Although official training starts tomorrow I have been training hard recently, especially with my running, and am pleased to report that it might be starting to pay off.  In fact, I have lost about 5kgs (11lbs).  There is still a long way to go, and the final two weeks of term may prove a little harder, but it is a start.

There are two main reasons for this weight loss: First, running.  I have never really liked running, but being a big lad I long ago realised that it was the best way for me to lose weight.  I have even started to kind of enjoy it now, and that enjoyment will only increase as I get fitter.  Second, diet.  I have been realising over the past few weeks just how little we actually need to eat.  Previously I would eat mid-morning and afternoon, but I have been discovering that actually I don't need to, and, if I do, that some dried fruit will be sufficient.  I have also cut out carbs, which I hate doing, but which is again something which I realised long ago 'works for me'.

So, pre-season continues.  Whether I will be there or not is another thing as the next two weeks are very busy and also as training is going so well that I think I might actually be better sticking with what I am doing already.

But we'll have to see what the coach thinks about that...

marching on

The Red go marching on!  What a game - I thought we should have had it sown up by half time, but fair play to Chelsea who could (should?) have won it in the second half.  But that's sport for you...

Things are marching on in other areas too - some quicker than others.  My science essay has been going well and I was hoping to get a good chunk of it completed by the end of tomorrow.  Until, that was, I was contacted to say that forms (which I only received yesterday) and a personal reflection (which I only found out about yesterday) had to be in Edinburgh by Monday morning in order for me to attend this panel and not have to put the date back.

Then this Saturday is the Small Group Leaders training and there are still a few bits and pieces that I need to get done for it (mostly photocopying and collecting food etc), although we have a speaker coming and taking the morning which means less work for me.  The great news is that the books that I ordered a few weeks ago have arrived which means that everybody there will get theirs.

So, marching on.  Although at this rate I'll be crawling over the finishing line in a few weeks time!  But I will be finished.  Bring it on...