H is for HAMSTRING

It was a cold, Wednesday night, with a slight hint of moisture in the air. We were just in the middle of a short stint of 'rugby league' style ball work at one end of the pitch when I felt a strange twinge in my right thigh. Nothing too serious, mind, but enough to make me aware of it every step I took. The coach knew there was something wrong because I was rarely troubled with any sort of injury and he immediately intervened, sent me to the changing room and instructed me to 'get some ice on it' straight away. Saturday was still three days away and I saw no reason to be particularly worried about missing the game, but the twinge kept niggling at me all the next day and by Friday, hadn't completely disappeared. Still, I reckoned with a good bit of strapping, things should be OK, even though it was my main kicking leg. It's strange because though I made it through the game, which we lost, I was always conscious of a slight weakness and have no doubt that it affected my performance on the day for with every kick or step, I half expected the small tightness to explode into a full hamstring tear. But it never happened though in retrospect I probably shouldn't have played. A week's rest and it never returned. The coach said it had only happened in the first place because I was actually fitter than I'd ever been, which said a lot for my condition beforehand!

Some years later, as I tried to extend my playing career down the club, I felt the pain of injury again, not in my leg this time but deeply embedded in my groin. It wasn't an instant pain that had stopped me in my tracks but one that seemed to develop as the game progressed. By the end it was pretty sore and the next morning, I knew I would struggle to make the cup semi-final the next Saturday. Each day brought a little improvement but still the deep ache that had settled over my left side, was not filling me with confidence. By Saturday, I had overestimated my importance to the team and, along with some encouragement, I took to the field. For the first few minutes, everything went to plan, though the ache had not deserted me. But fifteen minutes into the game, a quick twist to escape a tackle and I felt it go. I would liked to have had a choice as to whether to stay on or not but the searing pain left only one solution. It took weeks to heal and into the bargain, we lost the game, but that didn't hurt nearly as much as the fact that i had let down the guys I played with every week. Not because I was indispensable to the team but the fact that I had known all along I wasn't fit enough to play and had sacrificed the greater good of the team for my selfish desire to play. In the end I was found out. I knew how they felt for I had been in their position many times when a fellow team member had made a decision with a similar mentality to mine and we had suffered the consequences of his early departure from the field.

Long after I finished with the oval ball competitively, even a short kick about in the garden with young son, left me aware that injuries not properly cared for can leave a lasting mark and a weakness that doesn't go away. We cal them 'old war wounds' and they are a constant reminder of the frailties of our bodies as they age. Which reminds me, I don't like the slightly uncomfortable ache that invades my hip on a more regular basis than before!

The church is our body of believers. When one part of it is hurting, it's easy to turn a blind eye, stick our heads in the sand and expect everything to be alright. Sometimes it does heal itself but often it just gets worse and then we are all affected because we can't accomplish the things that God wants us to do. And in God's team, nobody is more important than another but everybody has a role to play for He is the head of our church and under His guidance we can do great things fro Him. But we need to be fit to be in his team, not carrying anything which could affect our usefulness, for while we may fool our closest friends, God knows. Paul in his letter to the Galatian Christians warns us, ' Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.' Are you hiding something that stops you from giving your best. While it's there you can never have the victory!