Folks keep burying Tim Tebow. But he keeps coming back.
Six weeks ago, the likeable but controversial quarterback was summarily cut by the New York Jets. And no other NFL team signed him. Game over.
Bingo. Suddenly he's been signed by the New England Patriots. He still has to earn a spot, but at least for now, the Comeback Kid has come back again.
Now, I'm no football talent scout. But I do know a guy who's an un-Titanic when I see one. Someone who's truly unsinkable.
I've seen that unsinkability again during Tebow's most recent roller coaster ride. And I've seen what it takes to be the thermostat that sets the temperature. Not the thermometer that rises and falls with the circumstances.
First, no whining. Victim-think...self-pity...blaming - they're all guaranteed to sink you and diminish you. At no time was there any of that - no matter the dark clouds. Like the Bible says, "Do everything without complaining...shine like stars" (Philippians 2:16).
There was no trash talk about the team that cut him: "It was a learning opportunity for me. There was a lot that I'll take from it...and a lot of relationships that I've built."
Another key to unsinkability: dwell on the good stuff. Tim found some meaning, some purpose in his stormy time with the Jets. By looking at what he gained, not just what he lost. Good glasses to look through.
And there's something else - don't stand still. Keep pushing yourself to be stronger and better. Even when - especially when - there seems to be no immediate incentive. If life quits on you, don't you quit on life.
They say Tim Tebow used his downtime to sharpen his passing game. No sitting, moping or resting on his pretty impressive laurels. Nope. Use life's "sidelinings" to get better than you've ever been. Go with the Bible's advice: "When times are good, be happy; but when times are bad, consider; God has made the one as well as the other" (Ecclesiastes 7:14).
So no cruise control. Just full speed ahead. As a parent or a spouse. Educationally. Professionally. Figure out where there's room for improvement. And do whatever it takes to turn a weakness into strength.
Oh yeah - and then there's that pride thing. Don't be full of yourself. Up or down, you hear Tim talking about always learning, always improving.
And he always seems to have time for the hurting, the little guys. The rare kind of guy who makes you feel like you're the important person, not him. That's the kind of person you want to be around - winning or losing.
There's a lot of talk about sports figures being role models. Tim Tebow's got that. Showing us how you can be unsinkable, even when life stinks. Because you're not controlled by your environment. But by your in-vironment.
And sometimes looking at a guy who does life with poise and grace makes you look at yourself. And say, "I'm not handling my roller coaster life so well, am I?"
The disappointments...the defeats...the disasters - they don't cause our dark side. They expose it. And that's a good thing. If it makes us want to change. Maybe to even say that life-changing word we don't like to say. "Help!"
Tim Tebow's done that. He quarterbacks football teams. But not his life. He's made it very clear - he's left calling the signals to Jesus.
So have I. Because I can trust Him more than I can trust me. Oh, I've tried running things. And I haven't liked the outcomes. The hurt I've caused. The messes I've made.
Fact is, we weren't meant to quarterback our life. In the Bible's words, I was "created by Him and for Him" (Colossians 1:16). But while I'm perfectly willing to let God run the universe, I'll run me, thank You. Which means I'm living with my back turned to the One I was made by. And for.
I'd never have found my way to God if it hadn't been for Jesus. "He died for sinners that He might bring us safely home to God" (1 Peter 3:18). That's how I know He loves me. How I knew I could trust Him. So I did.
And this One who calls my plays beat the opponent that's beaten everyone else. Death. I'm unsinkable because He is. And I belong to Him.
