Festivus

If you’re a Seinfeld fan you probably have heard of the word Festivus. It is a holiday that the Costanza family created where people discuss their grievances and prove their strength in a wrestling match. The original Festivus was for the rest of the people that didn’t celebrate Christmas. This makes sense as to why the Festivus I participated in last weekend was called Festivus: For the rest of us (you know the normal people that aren’t great at CrossFit). It was a great competition to do with the people at our box. We cheered each other on like crazy! Video, pictures, participants and spectators alike lead to an atmosphere fueled with adrenaline and pre-workout.

I was blessed to compete with all men. I was the only lady on the floor during my heat which helped me not to compare myself to anyone. I didn’t see who was faster or stronger or better than me. It was me against me. And that was felt when I had to throw a 10 pound wall ball up 9 feet in the air. That was the struggle as I kept grappling with my failed attempts to hit a target consistently. The crazy thing is I got on that podium. I was marked third place amongst my peers and thought perhaps this is it. I won! But the truth is I didn’t win. The next day I received an email stating that they didn’t calculate one of the workouts and once they did, I was sixth place.

Failure set in as well as thoughts of not being enough and wanting to give up. Then I thought it could be fuel for the next competition. I got that far. With a little bit of help, I could go farther. But really I was stuck. I’ve had a series of losses in life and nothing that resembled a win. For once I thought I was headed the right direction. I have a win. But it wasn’t the win I thought. It was a win of camaraderie. The win of trying something new. The win of meeting people like Jenifer from Siege.

Deuteronomy 20:4

For the Lord your God is He who goes with you, to fight for you against your enemies, to give you the victory.

With God by my side, I’ve already won. And no matter what, with God you are a winner too.