EP 03: The Underdog
How many movies have you watched recently where you know by the beginning which character is playing the “underdog?” So if you are like me, you immediately start hoping they get a break and cheering them on. Maybe you want the “underdog” to get the guy, or “win the race” or finally “Land the job they deserve….” Regardless of what you want them to accomplish I can guess that you probably can relate to the “underdog” of the story more then you can the ONE that is always “winning.”
Episode 3: The underdog…
The underdog has to fight and it seems they have to face way more obstacles then the other characters. They take one step forward and then boom (they are worse then they started). The underdog usually lacks talent, the look, or skill and tends to have to work so much harder then everyone else. This week my boys and I watched the movie “Rudy.” It’s the true story of a young boy who has a dream and desire to attend and play football at Notre Dame. His whole life everyone (including his father/ brothers) told him to let it go, quit dreaming, and would completely make fun of him. I hardly ever cry in movies (unless it’s a Christmas hallmark movie) but on this night watching Rudy with this strong desire to live out his dream and seeing every person he came in contact with (including his HS teachers) discourage and make fun of him had my heart completely broken.
Have you ever had a dream in your heart that you wanted to accomplish?
It’s the thing you think about when you go to bed and when you wake up. You have pictures of it, you talk about it constantly, and most of your decisions is based on accomplishing it? Most of the underdogs like “rudy” have negativity around them pointing them in the opposite direction of their destiny (most of the time because of jealousy). And they have to choose what voice to listen to. Rudy is one of my favorite underdogs because he pursued his dreams RELENTLESSLY and did everything in his power to make it happen, regardless of the negativity. It would have been so much easier for Rudy to quit and live a life of mediocracy but instead he FOUGHT, as one of the youngest guys on the practice team and he finally got to dress out in the last game of his senior year and played ONE PLAY. And in that play he sacked the quarterback and was carried off the field at the end of the game (did you know no other player has ever been carried off of Notre Dame's field since him)?Everyone in the crowd started cheering “rudy, rudy, rudy, rudy.”The whole movie I kept thinking “oh he will finally get to play and be the person that helps them win), or he will end up being the best player they’ve had in years. But instead, he dressed out and played ONE play, but that ONE play got attention from everyone because he told everyone what he was fighting for, so everyone came to watch him that day. Even through the laughs, negativity, the disappointments, and setbacks, he never wavered. He kept telling everyone he was going to run out on that field dressed out! He had ONE GOAL, ONE DREAM! And he knew that he would do everything in his power to accomplish it.
Do you ever feel like an underdog? What are you fighting for? Financial freedom, growth in a job, you have a desire to write a book, start a blog, or have a family?
Maybe the looks of your bank account, your past failures, negative people, or your current circumstance puts you in the underdog status. And you find yourself hitting every “bump” in the road on the way to accomplishing your dream. Now what?
Recently, I spoke to a ministry called (bridge 56) there were about 35 7th to 12th graders, and I got to share my testimony of being the “underdog.” I looked them straight in the eye and shared how I struggled in school (I had to repeat 1st grade, it took me a long time to read, I made every tutor cry (including my aunt), and eventually failed forward enough to get a college degree. I told them about a basketball injury that forced me to quit the game I loved. I told them how I felt like I lost my identity because I didn’t know where I fit in. I ended up becoming a people pleaser and dove myself into a full fledge “social butterfly” mode to mask the reality of feeling lost and alone. As a preacher's kid I knew the need for a Savior at a young age and my parents always encouraged me to live my dreams (my family was the opposite of Rudy’s). But I allowed my past failures and negative self talk to keep the dream of “writing a book” hidden. I thought people would laugh at me and remind me that I never made good grades so how in the world could I write a book? I wondered who in the world would read it.
But one of the attributes of an “underdog” is the spirit of relentless pursuit.
I think that is why I teared up watching “Rudy,” he was relentlessly pursuing his dream and had to drown out the noise. My noise came from my own mind so it was a little harder for me to just go in another room. But I did it, at the age of 35, I wrote my first book last year, and I felt a freedom, you see, I didn’t’ get a huge publishing deal, there is not a company supporting me or a book store selling my book. I haven’t necessarily “made it” in the Christian author world, but I WROTE A BOOK. It was my ONE PLAY, the thing I was fighting for. Self publishing my book and getting my story out that God had laid on my heart was like the day Rudy ran out on that field to play in one play.So maybe your sitting there and “that one thing” that you are currently fighting for may seem crazy or just way off to actually accomplish. Do you feel like an underdog? If so, do you feel this relentless pull to pursue it, that is God! He will speak to your soul to the point that you just can’t let it go, you continue to pursue.Ladies, it’s time to wake up, we only have one life and being the underdog has its perks, so what I want you to do tonight or this morning is to grab a journal and write down your dreams. The one or 2 things you want to pursue the next year. It may seem crazy to someone else but you know God planted it in your heart which means only YOU can accomplish it.It says in Philippians 1:6 -Being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.Get out on the field and run your ONE PLAY. You don’t have to be on the winning team all of the time, or the best player, you just need to run YOUR PLAY that GOD has called YOU to run!I made a post on social media and used a quote from Steven Furtick “the enemy of vision is the need for quick validation/ success.” Maybe you're like me and you’ve been frustrated and tired of feeling like the underdog or not seeing your dream/ vision come to life. Let me remind you (and me) of something.It says in Psalm 139 that He knew you when you were under the earth, and created you so perfectly and intimately in your mother's womb, so don’t even doubt the gifts and talents that he wove perfectly in you to accomplish this play.Maybe you just needed a little push or encouragement to keep practicing and keep pursuing. Go be someone else’s inspiration by not quitting on your dreams. Im cheering you on every step of the way!Ya'll be blessed!
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