Hearing your name called

This week is the National Football League Draft, a day that thousands of young men have been anticipating for years. I love to watch as the player hears his name called. The smiles. The hugs. Going to the platform and being congratulated by the commissioner. And then donning the jersey and cap of his new NFL team.

The incomparable joy of hearing your name called.

I imagine that all the hard work that led to that day races through their minds. The path to the draft is filled with many joys, but also with many trials. And with those trials there must have been times when they wanted to quit. Times when the dream seemed out of reach. Times when discouragement nearly outweighed the will to go on. But hearing their name called makes everything worth it.

• The first time they put on the helmet and shoulder pads and breathlessly ran sprints. Worth it!
• The two-a-day practices in high school. Worth it!
• The losing seasons and determining to stick with the game they love. Worth it!
• The rehab from injuries. Worth it!

Hearing your name called makes everything worth it.

Christian, the path is filled with many joys but also with many trials. There will be times when you want to quit. There will be times when discouragement nearly outweighs the will to go on.  At times you will feel breathless, exhausted, defeated, and injured. You will wonder if it is all worth it.

It is!

Someday you will hear your name called. Someday the hugs will replace insults. Smiles will replace grimaces. Congratulations will replace condemnations.  Someday you will be called to the podium and someday you will be presented the crown of life. And on that someday you will be able to look back on the sometimes-difficult path and, without hesitation or doubt, joyfully cry out, “Worth it!”

You will experience the incomparable joy of hearing your name called.

The sufferings we have now are nothing compared to the great glory that will be shown to us.

Romans 8:18 (NCV)