Let me preface this by saying, I'm not a big tennis fan. Tennis is probably the one sport that I like the least to watch and especially to play. Mainly because I'm no good at it and never have been. The only times I ever watch tennis is during the Grand Slams (Australian, French, Wimbledon, U.S. Open) and even then it's only until the quarterfinals onward. So I wouldn't say I'm an expert in tennis.
However, I watched a great match between Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal. Or I should say parts of it. When I got home from worship service, I turned on the TV just to see who won, thinking it was over with. Oh how wrong I was. They were just coming back from one of the rain delays. I then proceeded to watch them go back and forth with each serve and point. Nadal had several chances to win the match and the tournament in the third set and also the fourth but Federer fought through it and won the tiebreakers to send it to a fifth set.
When it went to a fifth set, I turned the TV off and went to go help stuff envelopes for the church. While we were stuffing, the TV got turned on and we watched the rest of the match as we stuffed envelopes. The way that match ended with Nadal winning was something. I was surprised in a way and in a way I wasn't.
When I was watching it, I was reminded of endurance and what that looks like. These two men played five sets of tennis, with three tiebreakers no less along with several rain delays. The match itself was 4 hours and 48 minutes and with the rain delays it was another 2 hours and 26 mintues on top of that. The match ended as night was falling. It was a long, grueling match and one that saw both of them at the top of their game even after all the rain delays and pushing each other to the limit.
Seeing a match like that reminds me of how following after Jesus is an endurance event. It is not something easily done nor is it quickly accomplished. However, it is truly rewarding to be a part of.
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