Humbled

I was very reluctant to write this post but here it goes. Last Saturday, I entered a Singles Table Tennis Tournament here in Jonesboro along with P. Weese. Shooters Pool Hall got the tournament together to raise money for MDA and I thought it would be fun to check out the local Ping Pong talent and donate to a good cause. Honestly, I thought I was a fairly good pinger...nothing on ESPN or anything...but I figured I could hold my own with most people around this area. We have a lot of guys that play table tennis at the church and our tournaments are pretty competitive. So going in...I felt pretty good. However, that all changed upon arrival. There were only 8 guys (counting the two of us) in the tournament. Out of those 6 other guys, I could see at least 4 that were going to be tough to beat. After warming up, some dude comes out with a single-elimination bracket that he had just drawn up. I was up first against a guy from City Water & Light. The games were a race to 11 points and a race to 5 games. I played 5 games. He beat me 5 in a row. One time, he served 3 in a row that never touched my paddle. It hit me in the knuckle every time. I vowed I would keep this a secret, but there were certain people in attendance that I know can't keep a secret...so it might as well come from me. Phillip won his first match but got the same results I got in round 2 from a kid about 16 yrs. old. He had a brother about 13 yrs. old in the tournament and I thank the good Lord I didn't have to play him. The guy I played actually won the tournament and beat the older kid 5 to 1 so that's the only thing that made my inner wounds feel better. I walked away last Saturday a very humbled ping pong player. Any ability I thought I had was removed on that day. There were two guys from City Water & Light in the tournament and they said they play ping pong every single day. I thought...that's pretty stinkin' obvious. Those dudes were good. First, I was mad...I hate getting beat...Second, I was depressed...I hate getting beat...Lastly, I was humbled and realized I'm not really that great at ping pong. Being humbled is tough but it's good for us. Just when I think I'm really giving God something...sacrificing for Him...or using my time for Him...I read about what he does for me. In group last night we talked about 1 John 4...real love. God loves us so much that He sent His Son to die for us. If that doesn't humble you, I'm not sure what will.