Wimbledon
Sure enough, I sure do love watching some tennis at Wimbledon. I like the singles and doubles, the men’s and women’s game, and will catch any bit I can here and there. Obviously, the time difference from London makes it not ideal for the USA but that’s alright - I’ll sneak it in when I can. This weekend there was this interesting moment in the TV coverage. As you know, Wimbledon is the most “prestigious” and etiquette-conscious tourney on the planet. Everyone wears white, you are expected to be on your best behavior, etc. Well, there were two matches going on simultaneously on Saturday. Kyrgios and Tsitsipas (say that 3 times fast!) were battling it out in a five-setter that had sparks, and tempers, and balls hit in the crowd, and behavior violations, etc. And they are friends with one another evidently. It was odd and weird and a bit ugly at times. On the next court over - one of the best to ever play the men’s game - Raf Nadal was winning in straight sets against Sonego. If you know anything about Raf, he is just a machine on the court. Consistent. Powerful. Just fun to watch - not because of the flare but because of the consistency. I haven’t seen ratings yet - but I’ll bet the “fireworks” match drew lots more attention. Because the “mechanical” way Nadal plays, he hits hard and great but not often flashy and he’s been around for a while. That may not play best to ratings, but the class and prolonged excellence is worthy of attention.
Isn’t that the way the world works? We tend to be about the new. We tend to like and celebrate things that stick out as unusual and even “rude and crude” over sustained excellence. This weekend I was pondering the difference between bamboo and oak. They are both wood. They both grow. They are both useful. But for very different things. Bamboo can grow almost anywhere and grows fast. Oak is a slow growing hardwood. It takes a long time for a seed to grow big into a tree that looks like an immovable force. And over decades it builds a strength that makes it priceless.
Friends - we want it all, we want it all now and we want it all on our terms. And it drives us crazy when we can’t get it. We want a gourmet meal and service for fast food prices. We want to make a difference in the world but often want to do that from our recliner rather than the blood, sweat and tears it takes to actually change the world through relationship. We want to be close to God without practicing spiritual disciplines that have stood the test of time to help us prioritize a relationship with God as the most important relationship of our life.
Nadal is not always fun to watch - one of the reasons is that he has this odd set of habits related to his play. Really odd and yet they work for him. “He has a series of well-documented habits which apparently helps him to stay focused in the game. Even though he denies suffering from OCD, he needs these things to be done in a certain and exact way before, after and during his matches.”
“I put the two bottles down at my feet, in front of my chair to my left, one neatly behind the other, diagonally aimed at the court. Some call it superstition, but it’s not. If it were superstition, why would I keep doing the same thing over and over whether I win or lose? It’s a way of placing myself in a match, ordering my surroundings to match the order I seek in my head.” said Nadal.
Just for fun - here are a few of his rituals (list and quotes pulled from Essentially Sports):
Nadal takes a freezing cold shower, 45 minutes before the match.
He wears both socks at the same height.
He carries one racket onto the court, and five rackets in his bag.
Takes off the jacket while jumping, facing the audience.
Jumps at the net during the coin toss.
Runs to the baseline for warmups.
Crosses the sidelines with his right foot only and avoids stepping on it.
Nadal uses a towel after every single point.
He ensures his opponent crosses the net before he does during a changeover.
He sips his energy drink and then his water, always in the same order.
One of the other famous Rafael Nadal rituals is his routine before serving. He places his hair behind his ear, pulls his nose and adjusts his shorts while bouncing the ball. Furthermore, he towels himself after every point. Many accuse Nadal of using this routine as a tactic to break the momentum and rhythm of his opponents. However, Nadal explained that these routines are for his psychological benefits.
“It is something you start to do that is like a routine. When I do these things, it means I am focused, I am competing – it’s something I don’t need to do but when I do it, it means I’m focused”, he added.
Ordering my surroundings to fit what’s in my head (and heart)
This ritual means I’m focused
Oh, by the way. As of June 2022, Nadal holds the Open Era record for the highest career winning percentage (minimum 500 wins) at 83.3% (1062–212 record). 83 out of 100 matches - he wins. Call it OCD - call it silly - call it boring - but whatever it is, we could all use some of that.
Daily prayer, Bible study
Weekly corporate worship
Regular service to benefit someone other than us
Reach out to someone who can’t “pay you back”
Find Jesus in previously unseen places
You get the point. Create sacred rhythms in your life that place you in situations where you can see God’s goodness. You know how the first Methodists got their name? They felt that faith was way too important to be left up to chance - so they decided to have a method for it. So they could be focused, attentive, present to God and one another, and see the outside world in the way God was revealing a kingdom reality within their head and heart.
So let it be with us!!!
