“Snap his head down”.
“His head is on the mat!”
“Get YOUR HEAD off -the-mat!!”
“Heavy on the head – HEAVY ON THE HEAD!!!!”
During the winter I spend my life in the gym. That sounds like a good thing…except I don’t actually work out….or use any equipment…or build any muscles. It feels like every waking moment is shomehow involved with about 250 sweaty, smelly, over-active pre-teen boys with high levels of testosterone. I guess that could be a good thing – maybe – if you are a teenage girl. Anyway….
When you are a spectator in a wrestling gym you hear all kinds of crazy stuff. One of the most important things that you will hear a coach (or a mom) yell – is for the wrestler to keep their head off the mat. If your head is on the mat it means you are tired. it means you have given up. It means your opponent is going to win.
This week was a rough week for me personally. Life was feeling very heavy for lots of reasons. Friends were sick and hurting. Finances were tight. Commitments were pressing. I wasn’t being a very good Christian (and I knew it). The weather was cold and dreary – and my spirit felt the same way.
What kept running through my brain was “Heavy on the head – HEAVY ON THE HEAD!”
That’s what a wrestling coach yells when he sees the other guys is giving up. If you can force your opponents head down to thematt with pressure you can defeat him (in more ways than one) and win the match.
And that’s what Satan was doing to me. He was heavy on my head. It was awful how it affected the entire rest of my body. I felt so lethargic, my limbs were weary, my very heart hurt. I was ready to give up. But I realized THAT is exactly what the evil one wanted me to do.
If I put my head on the mat – I GIVE him the match.
I wish I could tell you the winning combination. I wish there was some amazing move that cuold turn the score around, give me the win and score points for the team. Life is a struggle. The game is hard. My best advice is to surround yourself with a great team (try an actiongroup!) and depend on your coach (Jesus) to help you keep your head off the mat.
Psalm 121: 7-8 “The Lord will keep you from all harm – he will watch over your life; the Lord will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore.”