No pain, no gain!

I recently watched a documentary about the life of world champion surfer Andy Irons. The documentary, called ‘Kissed By God’, was a shockingly honest look at the troubled life and subsequent untimely death of one of the best surfers in history. 

One particularly key aspect of his life was his fierce rivalry with fellow world champion Kelly Slater. 

At the time of Andy Iron’s rise to the top, Kelly had won multiple world titles and was being touted as the greatest surfer of all time. Needless to say he wasn’t used to losing. However in 2002, 2003 and 2004 he would have to taste defeat every single year as Andy went on to become a 3 x world champion. 

In a separate film, ‘A fly in the champagne’ filmed in 2009, these two arch enemies talked openly about their rivalry and shared about the joys of beating the other as well as the pain of defeat. 

What struck me most powerfully in the film was how Kelly Slater described what it was like to lose year after year to his foe. As you might expect he told of the pain he felt having his title taken from him and, despite giving it his all, not being able to win it back for three years. 

He said something which has stayed with me, ‘winning is great but it is when you are losing that the good stuff inside really happens’. 

I can’t help but feel there is much wisdom in this statement. At times in life when things are going wrong, we are facing difficulties and it feels like we’re losing, we often consider things more deeply and learn the most about who we really are inside.

When things don’t work out in the timing we want we can learn patience. When we experience financial hardship we can learn to value the things that we have and when we face the death of a loved one it can help us to treasure the moments we spend with those we’re closest to.  

You often hear stories of people being made redundant but coming out the other side doing something completely different but much more fulfilling. 

To highlight the point, Kelly Slater himself went on from those tough times of losing year on year to find great success once more and win the world title a further five times!

There is a passage in the good book that says: ‘Consider it a sheer gift, friends, when tests and challenges come at you from all sides. You know that under pressure, your faith-life is forced into the open and shows its true colours. So don’t try to get out of anything prematurely. Let it do its work so you become mature and well-developed, not deficient in any way.’

Considering tough times a gift might be a step too far for you at the moment but difficulties really do have the capacity to transform us in a profound way. Not only that but it is my firm belief through personal experience that God wants to be with us in every season of life and is able to work all things out for good.