I watched the LA Kings on-ice celebrations with a happy smile. "Believe in yourself," I hear Dustin Penner answer a reporter, now no longer just a player, but a repeat Stanley Cup champion! A bit of a cliche, I've heard before... but what does it mean? In my upbringing I was basically taught that self-reliance was wrong. "Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding..." was a verse I was told to memorize (in the KJV). But somehow, an important detail of the two greatest commandments got missed. Self-examination. If we are to love God with our "whole being," it follows that we ought to ask, "what is our (my) whole being?" And if we are to love our neighbors as ourselves, it follows that we ought to ask: "what is ourselves (myself)?" So living properly has very much to do with our IDENTITY! Our unique identity. Our genetic identity. Our God-given identity. If I hear another player say "believe in yourself," I will interpret this as: "BELIEVE IN YOUR GOD-GIVEN IDENTITY." And interestingly enough, this identity for me (although not always encouraged by my parents) happens to be quite athletic... which, somewhat regrettably, I have had to discover by much of my own thoughts, inquiry, hardships and toil. Ha, ha, ha. I'm very much an athletic guy. Hallelujah! Competitive hockey is a fitting sport. Praise be to God forever!!!! Malcolm Rae should be permitted and encouraged to live to his full potential! Amen.
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