This article is taken from a sermon I preached in October 2022. See end of article for video.
Legendary.
Who or what comes to your mind when you hear that word? Maybe you think of something imaginary or mythical. A fable. A story. Me? I think of someone famous or renowned or well-known.
And (surprise, surprise) I think of legendary athletes or sports heroes. When I think of sports legends, I think of people like:
o Shannon Miller, an olympic gymnast from my hometown.
o Teddy Lehman, my favorite linebacker growing up.
o Venus & Serena Williams, two of the best of their sport.
o Paul “Bear” Bryant, legendary college football coach.
Men and women who shaped their sport. Men and women whose names are household names across the country. These people weren’t legendary because they got lucky, or because they were perfect. Believe it or not, they weren’t legendary because they were born that way. Sure, they were born with some genetic giftings. Let’s be honest…I am never going to be the gymnast that Shannon Miller was…not even in my actual dreams. But, the thing that made their careers successful wasn’t purely just what happened on the field, or on the ice, or on the court.
What built their legend was the build up of hundreds and thousands and millions of small moments all stacked together…just like your life, and just like mine. Somehow, the small moments in their life, mixed with plenty of factors beyond their control, build to something very special.
In fact, one of those legends, Bear Bryant has one of my favorite quotes and it relates to this really well.
“It’s not the will to win that matters. Everyone has that. It’s the will to prepare to win that matters.”
It’s the hard work done in the dark, the work no one sees, the work no one celebrates that built to the legend that is these heroes of athletics.
