I fell in love with basketball when I was five years old. All I ever wanted to do was shoot hoops outside, jump rope to improve my foot speed and watch clips of Michael Jordan. I used to fall asleep to a CD that played the Chicago Bulls starting lineup introduction song. I was known as the girl who played basketball, who missed school dances for recruiting trips and disappeared in the summer for weeks at a time to play in tournaments. Then I went to college to play and wrapped myself in this identity even further. Whenever I was introduced to someone new I would say, “Hi, my name is Chrissy and I play basketball at UCLA.” But then one day the buzzer sounded for the final time and my life came to a screeching halt. Who was I without a ball in my hand?
As I’ve transitioned out of my athletic career, there’s been a lot of lies swirling around in my head. That without basketball I’m not good enough; I’m unworthy, unseen, unloved, and unheard. But Proverbs 12:3 says the righteous cannot be uprooted. So, I get to cling to what I know to be true, The Lord, who parted the Red Sea, who turned water into wine, knows how many hairs are on my head, how many stars are in the sky, who walked on the water, died on the cross, and would have done so if only for ME, if only for YOU. He sees me, He loves me, and His plans for me are so good. He says I am loved, and I did nothing to earn that love, so there is actually nothing I could do to lose it, not even the end of my basketball career can change that. I am no more because I was a basketball player, and no less because I’m not anymore.
So now, allow me to reintroduce myself. Hi, my name is Chrissy. I’m a follower of Jesus. He calls me beloved, His child, precious and honored in His sight. That is my identity, that is all it always has been and all it always will be, and it has not shifted for a second.
For each chapter that has to come to an end, I know He’s going to create something new, something good, something beautiful, perhaps even something better because that’s His promise. His faithfulness that we have thus far in our lives does not end just because one chapter has. Cling to His goodness, trust His promises, and define yourself as one radically loved by the God who sees you because that is the most important thing about you. It will always be the most important thing about you.
