2014
Steel to Fire
I just had the best
tooth-brush moment ever! I call it a
tooth-brush moment, because sometimes I get the best epiphanies while I’m
brushing my teeth, getting ready for bed.
This is the one that happened tonight, the night of New Years Eve prior
to 2014.
My family just got
done watching “Father of the Bride,” a classic from the 1990s and a family
favorite. It has been years since I’ve
seen that movie. As I watched, I remembered
it was one of my first impressions of what weddings were like. At that age, I had never been to a wedding
before. I thought to myself, “You know,
when I was a child, I never thought of myself as become old and single.” The comparison between my innocent youthful
outlook on marriage and my view of marriage now was…well, kind of sad.
After the movie, as I
walked upstairs, I thought of how numb I’ve gotten to dating and marriage. A memory came through like lightening of
watching my friends play a losing game of basketball at BYUI. It was like they had given up already. One of the boys went for a fast brake and missed
an easy lay up, not because he couldn’t make it, but because in his mind, the
game was over. The thought came, “I feel
like that’s life right now with marriage and dating. Like with Paul (Name changed)--I feel like I gave up the
shot before the game was over.”
Then, I heard a voice
in my mind. It was my coach from High
School yelling out “Steel to Fire! Steel
to Fire!” The words brought an instant
flashback. During my senior year of high
school, we unfortunately lost more games than we won. But, no matter whether we were losing by 2
points or 50 points, it never failed that the last few minutes of the final
quarter would come, and I would hear coach yell out, “Steel to Fire! Steel to Fire!”
Steel meant, steal
the ball, and “Fire” meant purposely foul to stop the clock to give us more
time so we could win. It meant to play
as aggressively as possible, and try to win at all costs. I don’t think at the time I knew why he
called that play out no matter what the losing score was, until now.
Steel to fire, wasn’t
just a way to win games, it was a philosophy.
It meant, I want you to play as aggressively as possible until the very
last second. It meant not giving up. I can almost hear my coach’s thought
process. “Look, you know the opponent
now better than ever before. I don’t
care what the score is. To me, it’s
0/0. I want you to give me everything
now. We’ll assess our losses later.”
“Steel to Fire!” What an amazing way of life?! There’s something deeper to that analogy. Steel to fire is what the Savior uses as a
biblical description of how to purify us.
Figuratively, He holds us in the coals until we are at the hottest
temperature possible for purification and then he pulls us out.
Putting my coaches
philosophy with the Saviors parable brings a beautiful meld of what I must do,
and what Christ must do, in order for me to reach perfection. On my side, I must live life every day to
it’s fullest and give him everything I’ve got.
On the Savior’s side, He holds us with care under heated and trial some
circumstances until he knows we’ve become the purest in the moment that we can
become. Together, I can become pure as
“Steel to fire.”
This year, my life
will be as steel to fire. I might be on
the last few minutes of the 4th quarter of my 20s and YSA life. But, I’m not giving up! I know my opponent (Satan and his minions)
now better than ever before. And I know
the plays and the players on my team better now than ever before. I’m promising God that I’m going to play
harder this year than ever before at achieving my hopes and dreams. Whether they come or not isn’t what
matters. When we factor Christ in, there
are never really loses, just learning experiences that prepare us for the next
game. Like steel to fire, I know I will
be purified as I give Him my best.
