Tennis + Subtitles = Peace by Emily Owen

I don’t often read the sports section in the weekend paper. I do, however, if there is any tennis. 

I am by no means a tennis expert, or a super-fan, but I do enjoy tennis. Watching, that is. I was recently persuaded to hit a ball with my nephew; it didn’t last long (me, not the ball).

I recently watched Emma Raducanu (GB) take the world tennis scene by storm as she won the US Open.

It reminded me of Wimbledon. Not, primarily, because of tennis, but because of the subtitles.

For me, being deaf, subtitles/captions are something I often rely on; increasingly so during lockdown as meetings etc moved online. As I’ve noted on this blog before, the captions – whilst invaluable – are not immune to error. 

Which brings me back to Wimbledon….

I was watching a match in which  Andy Murray (GB) was playing, and the commentator said:

‘Murray did well to stay in that rally. Good use of the Lord.’

I sat up a bit straighter. How did the commentator know Murray had been praying?

Then I realised that the captions should have read, ‘Murray did well to stay in that rally. Good use of the lob.’

(A lob in tennis is where a ball is hit over the opponent’s head, too high for them to reach.)

But those words, ‘Good use of the Lord,’ got me thinking.

Use: the action of using something or the state of being used for a purpose.

In our writing, and our living, do we make good use of the Lord?

Using people can have negative connotations, but it doesn’t have to be negative.

I sometimes say to people, ‘feel free to use me’, by which I mean, ‘let me know if I can help’.

What if God says the same to us?

Let Me know if I can help.

Ask Me.

Ask Me with a purpose.

I don’t know about you, but sometimes I can carry on struggling, and trying to work things out – with writing and with life – and then it’s as if God interjects into my struggling;  Have you asked Me? 

And my answer is no. Not yet.

So I ask Him (better late than never).

And He helps. Be it with a tricky manuscript, or a problem I might be facing, or with anything.

Let Me know if I can help.

Call to Me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.

Jeremiah 33:3 

Yesterday was World Peace Day. I pray that, as we make 'good use of the Lord’, inviting Him into our every day - the worlds we live in, our work and our relaxation - we will know peace.

Let Me know if I can help.

Peace I leave with you; My peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.

John 14:27