When I was 10 or 11 years old, I went out for Little League Football. I’m sure my older brothers played football, but they were much older and weren’t playing when my turn came. My dad was never overly involved in my sports so that left mom to prepare me for football.
It was my introduction to the jock strap. I remember asking mom which way it went. Something was going to be hanging out either way. Awkward. Especially having to figure this out with your mom. Then we figured out the shoulder pads. Nobody told me I should wear a T-shirt underneath the pads so that they wouldn’t rub me raw. Mom didn’t know that.
At that first (and last) practice, the only thing I remember is lining up and hitting each other. Since I was the biggest fifth grader, they lined me up against the biggest sixth grader, Byron. Byron was big. Byron had a wicked smile on his face as he lined up against me. Hike! Boom! I had no idea whether I was on offense or defense. It didn’t matter. Byron ran over me either way.
When I got home, my underarms were raw from the shoulder pad straps rubbing me raw. My body was sore from Byron rolling over me several times. I had no idea why anyone would enjoy playing football. I didn’t want to go back.
I told my mom I wanted to quit. She said I had to talk to dad. Weird that I didn’t have to talk dad about the jock strap, but I had to talk to dad about quitting.
Dad was changing the oil in the combine (we were farmers) or something equally ambitious. I found him and said, “I want to quit football. Mom said I had to ask you.”
He stopped what he was doing and told me this:
“You can quit football, but don’t ever quit anything else ever again.”
Not terrible advice. Not great either. When I was a senior in high school, and my high school basketball coach was proving to be a basket case, dad pulled me aside and told me that I could quit. I didn’t. He had instilled it in me at an impressionable age. But let me assure you there is a time to quit.
Our daughter was working in a lab during college. Her professor had an Emotional Quotient of zero. I think in a backward way she liked our daughter because she tends to just tell you the blunt truth. But the professor was playing mind games with the students and saying horrible things. Let me also add that our daughter had shifted majors and that this was not going to be a path that led to her hopes and dreams.
She quit. She didn’t leave a note. She told the professor, after listening to a long rant, that she wasn’t coming in tomorrow. It wasn’t spontaneous. She had considered this for some time. It was the right decision. She did it well.
In Matthew 19, Jesus tells a successful young man to quit.
“If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”
Jesus is very specific in what the man is supposed to quit and very vague about what he is to do. Yet Jesus is clear that quitting a secure job will lead to countless rewards. The young man can’t do it.
Jesus also doesn’t build any steps into the transition. Most people need a transition plan to jump off a cliff. But sometimes we are better off just jumping.
Jesus doesn’t call the man to quit because it’s too hard. Jesus calls the man to quit because it’s too easy.
Peter soon asks Jesus,
“We have left everything to follow you! What then will there be for us?”
Peter had quit his job. Now life was hard. He had no idea what to expect day to day. Jesus encouraged Peter to persevere. “It will all be worth it, and sooner than you think. Don’t quit Peter.”
Why is it so hard to know when to quit and when to persevere?
A coach is an ideal person to help you consider this question. The conversation will be confidential. The coach will be unbiased. You will gain a ton of new awareness around the issue. We have many CCLC coaches who could help you with this issue.
