Rosen Journey

For the last three weeks, Karin and I have been at the Mercy Ships International Support Center (ISC) in Lindale, TX receiving training and orientation for our time serving over the next two years.  It’s the continuation of a massive shift in our lives from living and working stateside to serving overseas in God’s mission.  During this time we have met many wonderful people who serve in this ministry around the world.  Our interactions have been rich and we have learned so much.  Many of the people who have invested in us have decades of experience serving Jesus through Mercy Ships.  It’s been greatly encouraging having veterans who believe in us and who have welcomed us into our roles.  

The ISC is an old Christian school complex so one of its surprising amenities was a full basketball court.  Needless to say I spent a number of evenings shooting hoops by myself.  It was a great outlet and a blast from the past for me.  You may know that I pretty much grew up with a basketball in my hands and there’s no question it was my first love.  

While shooting free throws at Mercy Ships, I was reminded of when I was in a free throw competition at halftime of a George Fox College game when I was in elementary school.  A different player would be profiled in the program each home game and they would have that player then autograph about 5 programs and randomly give them out to fans as they came in.  At halftime those 5 fans would be called on to the court in front of the crowd.  They would proceed to have a competition where each person shoots a free throw.  If you make it you move on to the second round.  If you miss, you are eliminated.  

On this particular night my family walked into the gym, took a program and sat down next to my grandparents.  My grampa proceeded to hand me his signed program and I spent the entire first half nervous and yet excited for my halftime debut.  Young Curt walked out onto the court along with a few college students and other adults and I got to go first.  I stepped up to the line nervous but confident in the fact that I had done this many times before.  The shot went up, straight through the hoop, nothing but net!  Then I proceeded to watch as each of the adults missed their shot and I won the competition in the first round!  This win gained me two things.  A modest gift card from a local restaurant and a place in the finals during the last home game where all the other champions and I would square off for a much larger prize.  My little elementary school body could hardly contain the excitement!  

In the next couple of months I practiced my free throws more than ever on our family basketball court.  Many days and nights I dreamed of walking down onto the floor and winning the competition in front of the roaring crowd (trust me they were roaring, at least in my imagination).  Finally the night came for the free throw contest championship.  This time I stepped up and bricked my first shot squarely off of the back of the rim and the ball bounced to the floor.  Of course the little guy is usually the fan favorite but I was eliminated in a hurry.  Nevertheless the whole experience was priceless for me.  Even today this story reminds me of a few things that still challenge me deeply.  

First, none of this would have been possible if my grandpa hadn’t given me a chance.  It was his program and he easily could have walked down there and taken the shot, “granny style” and all (because that’s how he shot his free throws).  But instead he gave the program to his basketball crazy, dreaming grandson.  And what a gift it was.  Through it I gained some level of confidence that God knew “underdog” Curt sorely needed.  Something was awakened in me through that experience that I still need today.  Sometimes I still struggle with confidence like my younger self.  And God, my heavenly Father, like my grandfather, is calling me out and calling me up.  God is still saying, “I see you, I believe in you and here’s your chance.”  Perhaps this is a message you need to hear as well.  May I encourage you?  Take the next step, go after your dreams.  Love and trust others again.  Lead with boldness.  Openly and honestly begin exploring faith again.  Make a courageous decision and do what you were born to do.  Many of us need people like my grandpa to kick start us on the road to confidence and faith.  

The second thing this story reminds me of is the fact that sometimes things don’t go as we hope and dream.  What will we do then?  Will you quit, will we stop trying, will we make excuses?  Or will we learn from our experience, continue to work hard, trust God and focus our sights on the things that God has next?  This ultimately is what God desires for all of us.  The reality is, we can’t win every time.  Perhaps life is more about growing than it is about winning.  It’s more about progress than it is success.  Here’s a truth check, every winning streak comes to an end.

In basketball, the free throw line is just 15’ away from the hoop which is only 10’ tall.  A good shooter can average 90% from the free throw line.  But how many free throws can a person make in a row?  I remember my all time record was 26.  So now you know, it didn’t take long for my free throw winning streak to come to an end.  But what is the world record?  Turns out the world record took more than 7 hours to accomplish.  Ted St. Martin who grew up not far from Ellensburg in Naches, WA made 5,221 consecutive free throws on April 28, 1996.  As incredible as that is, it also proves a point.  Every winning streak must come to an end.  So we need to make sure we are investing our lives in the things that matter most.

Whatever season you find yourself in, perhaps these two truths challenge you like they challenge me.  Your Heavenly Father believes in you, He sees things in you that you may not see in yourself.  He’s asking you to rise up in courage and take your place.  He’s asking you to reorient your life towards the things that matter most.  Like with my grandfather, I believe God is saying, here’s the program, take your shot.