God's Coaching #252

God's Coaching #252

Talk about girl power. The 2010 football season was a historical one for Calvin Coolidge High School in Washington, DC. The head coach wore earrings, had long, braided hair, and spoke in a high-pitched voice. That’s because the head coach was a woman. When Coolidge had hired Natalie Randolph the previous March, it created a wave of headlines nationwide for her gender-busting efforts in a male-dominated sport. In 2010, she was believed to be the only female head coach of a high school football team in the country, and one of the only women ever to have the job.

Natalie, who had played for a semipro female football team called the DC Divas before coaching, was featured on several national TV shows and on the cover of Parade magazine. Coolidge received media credential requests for its 2010 season opener from all four major DC-area TV stations, as well as HBO, ESPN, the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, and Forbes magazine, among others.

What’s the Score?

Natalie dared to be different, despite the pressure and gender-biased comments that swirled around her and questioned her abilities. She stood up for what she believed in.

God wants his children to do the same. No matter what other people say or think of Christians, we are to obey God—not cave in to the pressure around us. That’s kind of like Daniel. He was a young man among the Jewish exiles deported to Babylon after King Nebuchadnezzar’s army overthrew Jerusalem in the sixth century BC. The king ordered Daniel and three friends—Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego—to eat food that was forbidden by Old Testament law. Rather than going with the flow and avoiding harassment, Daniel and his friends obeyed God’s law. In doing so, their very lives were in danger. But God protected and blessed them. Daniel and his friends pleased God by being different from the world around them.

On the Ball

Pray that God would give you courage to be different from the world.

Coach’s Comment

Daniel was determined not to defile himself by eating the food and wine given to them by the king. He asked the chief of staff for permission not to eat these unacceptable foods. Daniel 1:8