Nothing Ventured, Nothing Gained

O my God, in you I trust; let me not be put to shame; let not my enemies exult over me. Indeed, none who wait for you shall be put to shame; they shall be ashamed who are wantonly treacherous. Make me to know your ways, O LORD; teach me your paths. (Psalm 25:2-4 ESV). In one of the most bizarre games in college football history on November 11, 1939, Texas Tech and Centenary racked up an amazing seventy-seven punts. Yes, you read it right - seventy-seven punts! Texas Tech punted thirty-nine times, Centenary thirty-eight times, both hitting the all-time record list. Sixty-seven punts were made on first down, including twenty-two in a row in the third and fourth quarters. Texas Tech finished with minus one yard of offense; Centenary rolled up a big thirty yards total. The final score was 0-0. Nobody won, nobody lost, and nobody took many risks. Victory requires that we take risks. When the late Nadine Stair, of Louisville, Kentucky, was 85 years old, she was asked what she would do if she had her life to live over again. “I’d make more mistakes next time,” she said. “I’d relax. I would limber up. I would be sillier than I have been this trip. I would take fewer things seriously. I would take more chances. I would climb more mountains and swim more rivers. I would eat more ice cream and less beans. I would perhaps have more actual troubles, but I’d have fewer imaginary ones. “You see, I’m one of those people who live sensibly and sanely hour after hour, day after day. Oh, I’ve had my moments, and if I had to do it over again, I’d have more of them. In fact, I’d try to have nothing else. Just moments, one after another, instead of living so many years ahead of each day. I’ve been one of those persons who never goes anywhere without a thermometer, a hot water bottle, and a raincoat. If I had to do it over again, I would travel lighter than I have. “If I had my life to live over, I would start barefoot earlier in the spring and stay that way later in the fall. I would go to more dances. I would ride more merry-go-rounds. I would pick more daisies.” Teddy Roosevelt said it best: “It is not the critic who counts, not the man who points out how the strong man stumbled or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena; whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again; who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotion, and spends himself in a worthy cause; who, at the best, knows in the end the triumph of high achievement; and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat.” Perhaps today is a day for you to determine to get up and take a risk. No one who trusts in the Lord will be disgraced. What risks is the Lord asking you to take today? Nothing ventured, nothing gained! Go for it!