Don't Stop

In 8th grade my parents wanted me to get involved in athletics. Pella is well known for its success in football, so they suggested I try out. In a matter of days, I was standing on a grass field with a brand new pair of cleats and a set of shoulder pads too big for me.

A couple weeks into the season, we were practicing and I was getting the absolute snot tackled out of me. I managed to drag myself back to the sidelines to get a drink after a drill. My coach yanked the dirt clod from the front of my helmet and stared at me. “You’re stopping,” is what he said. I asked what he meant.

“You stop mid play because you know the tackle is coming. Instead of continuing to run, you stop to brace yourself. You want to quit getting destroyed out there?”

I viciously nodded yes.

“Then don’t stop.” He then promptly shoved me back on to the field for more drills.

He was right. I found if I met my opponent halfway I’d stay on my feet and get less hurt. Now did this magically transform my football career? No, but it did give me a unique perspective.

The older I get, the more I wonder about this principle of running at problems. How often are we told to stop and wait, to let things “blow over”? I wonder, does that really make us better off? Or does it more harm than good?

Let me put it to you another way, earlier this fall, I was able to go home for a day to help around the farm. The day before I arrived, my dad had cut down a large oak that had died earlier that spring. When the tree was cut, it fell into the branches of another tree, leaving it entangled. When I came home the next day, my dad told me to go get our Farmall M to move it.

The only way to get the tree loose was to shift its trunk in line with the path we had already cleared. This meant before I could drag the tree free, I first had to pilot the M onto a steep creek embankment to get the tree into position.

After tugging on the tree, the M idled noisily as my dad unsecured the chain, the tractors nose pointed straight at the water. Meanwhile, I was planning how exactly I was going to get out of this tight spot. Rolling forward was a no go, a tweaked front end meant steering was a struggle, on top of dad lending plenty of advice, I had a thousand thoughts running through my head. That is until the tractor's brakes gave up. I pumped them frantically to no avail as I hurdled forward. In a moment of panic, I dumped the clutch of the tractor and throttled up, sending the tractor in reverse. My dad jumped clear and hollered, “Don’t you stop!” Threading the needle between two trees and charging up the hill, the M and I found ourselves resting on the flat ground of our pasture, safe and sound.

In life what I’ve found is that there will always be something preventing us from doing the things we want. Regardless if it's an inevitable tackle that sets us off course or something we’re stuck in, it’s easy for these situations to rule over our lives. Often times it feels like admitting defeat and “waiting out the storm” seem like the only options left. Here’s the thing, if everyone did this then I have a hard time believing the West would have been won, the US would be the first to the moon, and literal mountains would be moved.

Today I challenge you, instead of wallowing in what’s going wrong in your life, choose to fight it. Stand up to it. Because your “it” can be beaten. Run right at and tackle your situation. Get yourself in gear, the time for doubt is over. Have a little Faith, and when you start moving again: Don’t Stop.

Go Get Em,

Chandler Jahner

South Central State Vice-President