Preparation, Attitude, and Effort

This week I had the opportunity to go and watch our high school bowling team compete at regionals. The regional tournament took place at The Alley here in Wichita. Every lane was full of competitors all trying to qualify for the state tournament. In Kansas state high school bowling, classes 1A-5A all compete in the same regional. As you looked across the lanes you saw the Andover schools, Bishop Carroll, Kapaun, Wichita Northwest, Augusta, Mulvane, etc.

You could see and feel the amount of pressure the students were under to perform in a stressful situation. If you win, you move on and head to the state tournament. If you lose, the season is over. You could see the players looking across the lanes at other scores on the board and comparing how they measure up. It was a good reminder that we all, at times, are under pressure to perform and to be successful. It may be in our career, as a parent, as a spouse, etc. We can get distracted looking around at how everyone else is doing and lose sight of the task at hand. We start to worry about things that are out of our control. Occasionally, we let fear set in of not measuring up.

We, like our high school bowlers, have control over our preparation, our attitude, and our effort. Jesus tells us in Matthew 6:27, “Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?” It is so easy to worry about what how others are doing, which is not in our control, and not focus on the things that are in
our control.

I was encouraged this week as I watched our students compete. They have practiced all season (preparation), were great teammates for each other (attitude), and competed with all they had (effort). Some of our students exceeded their expectations while others fell short of their goals. Overall, they represented our Savior, their families, and our school well, and I was blessed by the way they handled
themselves. If you are facing a stressful situation, I encourage you to focus on what you can control: honoring God with your preparation, attitude, and effort. In the end God will be glorified!

Blessings,
Kenny Waddell
Secondary Principal