Taking My Legs

In sports there is the idea of taking the “legs” of your opponent.  It means to discourage them or to dishearten them to the point they no longer have any sense of hope or optimism and they become easy to defeat.  I feel like the enemy knows just how to “take my legs”.   He simply waits until I do or say something foolish around or to my wife and kids, then he amplifies it and uses this failure to bring discord between my wife and I.  Nothing takes my legs more than a quarrel between Candice and me.  I feel pretty much unable to add anything of much value to any conversation, or circumstance I find myself in.  I am not sure it should be this way but it is.  I know Jesus is our source of power and strength but nothing leaves my feeling quite as disconnected from the power source as a spat with my wife. 

                How do you get our legs back?  It is extremely hard in sports and likewise it is difficult in our personal life.  I am not sure I can even speak to this all that well as I am still trying to figure it out.   However, I have learned a few things.  In basketball, football, and baseball you have to go back to the basics and focus on the next thing, (possession, play, at bat…) then find something positive to build on, and sometimes those small sparks can reignite the individuals and the team.  In our personal lives it is much the same.  If we return to the fundamentals like prayer, getting quiet, doing something to help, or encouraging someone those small kindnesses sometimes give us something positive to build on and maybe before we know it the wind is back in our sails and we have our legs back to continue running this race set before us.