One of my biggest pet peeves in sports is the phrase “step up”. We have all heard it. The microphone is in front of some athlete, his team is down 100 points at the half of the championship game and they want to know what he thinks. “Well, we just need to step up right now”. It is the most overused and worn out cliche in sports. Then, to my dismay, I actually did the same thing the other day. I uttered the words “step up”.
I was thinking about a couple that we know that are getting ready to deliver baby number 3. I was thinking how when the time comes in life, no matter what the new challenge, we simply “step up” and meet the challenge. We worry like crazy before we get there, but in the midst of it all, we rise to meet the moment, find the strength and get through it. Those on the outside look and wonder how it’s done. Those within are too focused to see it. So close they don’t realize what an amazing thing they are doing.
Need some examples? Look around you. Mothers that stay home to raise children. Fathers that work to provide. Parents of a new born with special needs. The spouse that does the finances. People battling terminal illness. The spouse that takes care of his/her spouse when they can’t physically take care of themselves. How do they do it? How do they find the strength? Where do they get the knowledge and wisdom and know what to do? If you would ask them, I bet they would say something about just simply “stepping up”.
Max Lucado said “God didn’t still the storm, but he calmed the sailor”. He knows exactly who can handle what, and how they will respond. Who can step up and who can support. So the next time you hear that often used cliche, remember those around you that have set the example.
