By Gary Miller
I’ll probably lose some readers today because of this next sentence. I’m a big University of Kentucky sports fan. LOL. I hope you’ll keep reading because I believe we can get past that fact quickly. As some of you know, the Wildcats hired a new basketball coach this past year by the name of Mark Pope. He was a Rhodes Scholar, a former medical student at Columbia University, former basketball coach at BYU, and just an overall unique, and good guy. He uses phrases and ideas in his basketball style that one doesn’t hear very often. The one I heard the other day was the word “autopsy.” And when he was asked to explain why he uses that word and how he incorporates it into his coaching, he said that after each game, they want to be reminded that that game is over. It is dead. It doesn’t matter if there was a win or a loss, that game is dead – never to be resurrected again. The autopsy is then done. They examine the good and the bad, in that order. Then they bury the remains and move on. I’m thinking of so many uses for that in both my outdoor life and in my daily living.
In my hunting and fishing days, each past season – even each past day, is over. It is dead. Whether it was successful or not, it should carry no lingering effect on what the next day or season holds. While yesterday I caught no fish. Today, I might get my limit. It’s actually what keeps us going back. In more important things in life, it means yesterday’s failures or successes do not determine tomorrow’s outcome. And more importantly, they don’t define who we are. Failures and successes are not people. They are moments in time. That doesn’t mean that some of those days will not change our life permanently. They will, and they should. But what brings about the change is not the events, but the autopsy. It’s the change we made after we examined yesterday’s body. This idea is good, but it is also Godly. That is, it is how God wants us to live as well.
The Apostle Paul put it this way as he thought of his own past and his desire to grow. He said, “Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. (perfect Godliness) But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.” (Phil 3:13-14 NKJV) And this is to be our goal as well. It is to remember that each day does not stand alone. It is a piece in the puzzle that God is putting together in our lives to make us into the person He wants us to be. And the pieces we want to throw out are as important in making us complete as the ones we want to keep. So, wake up each day and do the autopsy on yesterday. And then remind yourself that not only is today a new day, but it is also filled with new mercies – new blessings- from God.
Gary Miller has written Outdoor Truths articles for 21 years. He has also written five books which include compilations of his articles and a father/son devotional. He also speaks at wild-game dinners and men’s events for churches and associations. Miller can be reached via email at gary@outdoortruths.org. Stay updated on Outdoor Truths each week by subscribing at Outdoortruths.org.
Comments