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[dropcap2 variation=”coffee”]C[/dropcap2]oach Pickle (yes, that was really his name) knelt down and looked into my eyes before the finals of the 50-yard Backstroke at the Texas State Championships. I was ten years old. I swam out of my head that morning and was seeded very high. I was a little guy, and the other seven finalists had at least six inches on me.
“Gary, listen carefully,” he said. “Don’t be intimidated. You must swim bigger than you are. Why not you? Why not here? Why not now? Go get ’em!”
I focused. “It’s just me and the water,” I told myself. “Explode off the blocks, stay relaxed, hit the turn, then dig, dig, dig my way home.”
The gun went off. The rest was a blur.
I looked up at the electronic board. Second. In first was the favorite, a giant .09 seconds ahead of me. By the time I got out of the water, there was Coach Pickle, with a grin as wide as Texas.
“Atta boy, Roe!” he yelled in my ear as he wrapped me in a towel and a bear hug. “I wish you could see their faces. They’re looking at you wondering what just happened. And the giant- he’s shaking his head. You scared the living snot out of him.”
Chances are we’ve all heard of David and Goliath. Something deep inside us stirs as the teen shepherd boy steps forward to face the 9-foot undefeated champion. Goliath is armored like a tank, and the tip of his spear weighs 75 pounds. David refuses armor and reaches for his sling and his pouch of smooth stones. Goliath laughs.
David suddenly springs forward, carrying us with him – our hopes, fears, and dreams. The unheralded underdog throws himself into the jaws of certain death. Goliath roars. We hold our breath.
A stone zips through the air. The giant freezes, then crumples to the ground. The armies on both sides stand in shock. David runs forward and raises Goliath’s sword. Our hearts leap! We pump our fists and scream, “Yes!”
And for a moment, just a moment, we are David – the hero, the against-all-odds victor.
Deep down in our souls, we know we’re underdogs. We’re surrounded by giants every day. Challenges pour down upon us. And ultimately we have an enemy who makes Goliath look like a wimp in flip-flops.
And yet there is more to the story. Somehow we know we were designed to be like David – people who face terrible giants and win.
How do we do that? You won’t want to miss the next post…
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