Make a Good Play

Last week I was watching the New England Patriots’ football game for the first time this season. I was not familiar with Cordarrelle Patterson before the game, but he really made an impression on me. You may not be a football fan, but please stay with me for a minute. Early in the game Patterson was called on to return a kickoff, and after a decent run, he lost the ball after taking a big hit from the defender, and eventually lost the fumble. The other team quickly scored, which resulted in another kickoff. Patterson once again caught the ball deep in the end zone, and instead of taking a touchback and getting the ball on the twenty-five, he decided to run the ball out and was tackled around the fifteen yard line. I felt bad for the guy; I figured he was trying to make up for his fumble with a big kick return, but he only made things worse. I also figured he was due for an earful from his coach, and I wondered if he would be returning kicks any longer after that performance.

He was. In fact, the very next kickoff brought Patterson back out for the Pats, and when he got his hands on the ball, he returned it ninety yards for a touchdown. His teammates were obviously happy for him, and he no doubt felt like he had helped atone for the earlier damage he had done.

I thought that was a great picture of determination. It is easy to throw in the towel or have a pity party when things aren’t going our way. Patterson had to put his mistakes out of his mind because dwelling on them could easily lead to poor decisions. This is something I believe we all have to do at some time or another, and I am not just thinking about sports. We make mistakes, we sin, and we let people down. When we do we can dwell on them or we can put them out of our mind. We should learn from our mistakes when possible, but we must decide to look forward, not back.

I like how Paul said it: “Forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forward to those things that are before, I press on towards the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus (Philippians 3:13-14).” Maybe you have dropped the ball and let someone down; don’t let that keep you from trying to do better next time. There’s plenty of time still on the clock, so get out there and make a good play.