I recently saw my old coach whom I love and respect. He seemed even closer to Christ and his faith more vibrant than the last time I saw him. He is 67 and still desires to be transformed into the likeness of Christ. It gives me great optimism. My coach will never change. For him to change would be to stop moving forward, to stop desiring God. He knows he is on a journey, he knows where his citizenship rests.

Can we grasp how hard it is, and yet how fundamental it is to progress? Our brains, bodies, and even friends resist our transformation. Habit, routine, and a planned agenda give a sense of security. The older we get, the harder change becomes. It is much easier to transplant a sapling than a mature tree.

Last season, I was watching the NBA playoffs and the finals. I saw some miraculous shots (like LeBron's 3-pointer) throughout each series. These moments make it onto ESPN's top 10 plays.

One of the top miracles Jesus performed was the feeding of the 5,000 with 5 loaves of bread and 2 fish. I noticed that the same pattern appeared in each Gospel. Jesus blessed the bread, broke the bread, then kept giving the bread until everyone was fed. After the meal, 12 baskets of leftovers were filled. That's a miracle by anyone's standards.

As I was driving to work this morning, I was forced to constantly keep changing the radio station. All anyone could or would talk about was my beloved Kansas Jayhawks’ loss to VCU yesterday in the NCAA men’s basketball tournament. And I just did not want to hear it.

For college basketball fans across the country, March is a bittersweet month. Because there is only one national champion at the end of the season, the vast majority of us have to end the season on some sort of losing note. And we always wind up consoling ourselves with the common thought, “Well, there’s always next year.”

Ever forget anything? Lately I have been very forgetful. I once heard the story of a man who used to tie a string around his finger to remember important things. However, once he had 10 strings on his hand, he couldn't remember what each string meant! I guess it's a little silly what people will do to try to remember things, but the point is that these things are important to them.

How often do we worry that we are weak? When the struggles of life start to weigh us down, we sometimes get weak in the knees and feel we don’t have the strength to continue. But it’s not always the feeling of physical weakness that makes us tremble; it’s often the feeling that we are alone in the battle. It is always easier in a negative situation to look to people for support than it is to turn our sights to Jesus who is not there in the flesh.

I love to watch wrestling. No, not the slam dunk, throw-em-across-the-ring brawls you see on television, but the true competition that takes place on mats across the country during the bleak winter months. Two contestants walk across the mat and, with a steely eyed stare, get ready to engage in a battle of strength and will. After three two-minute periods of power, strength and speed, one winner emerges with his or her hand raised by the referee. Often, the loser is defeated by a more skilled opponent, but once in a while, a superior wrestler simply underestimates an opponent and that person’s abilities.

Pain gets our attention. When our bodies get injured, infected, or hurt, pain forces us to take action toward healing. If there were no pain, we would not take steps to mend the injury, resulting in further damage. Pain forces us to respond to emotional ailments as well. How we respond determines what kind of change we will see. Often we try to numb the pain and feel better for a while; but eventually the problems return. However, if we take action, we can find healing and restoration. The pain is difficult, but in it can be found blessings.