It’s true. Ronda Rousey took a hard, very public fall in her fight last year with Holly Holm, her third title fight in only 9 months. She expected to win; everyone expected her to win. But finding herself admittedly knocked out on her feet from the first exchange is not exactly how she planned the fight to go. With the reality of defeat growing more and more imminent, to the final blow that sealed the deal – what did Ronda Rousey do that we all sometimes do, Team? We become our failure.
“What am I anymore, if I’m not this? I’m nothing.” Ronda thought, crouched in the corner of her hospital room after the fight. Ronda recently shared this transparent moment on the Ellen DeGeneres Show.
What “title” have you attached your entire identity to? I’m a {insert what fuels your confidence and causes you to stick your chest out}. Did you know that if you weren’t a {___}, you still have worth, meaning, and are treasured by God?
What Say You, Andy?
I love how Andy Mineo put it in his Facebook post, after hearing how Ronda Rousey wanted to end her life, because for a moment, she actually thought her life was over:
I struggle with my own identity often. My accomplishments are fleeting. What has been able to keep me in my greatest moments of struggle is my faith in Jesus. Knowing God gives me identity and validation that no person can take away. If I succeed, He loves me. If I fail miserably, He loves me. He calls me His son – and like any good father – His love for his children isn’t based on performance.
Are you so busy performing for God, trying to win love, worth, and acceptance that Jesus Christ has already gifted to you? STOP! Accept the love of God and Jesus’ gracious work on the cross given to us all when we deserved far less (Romans 5:8).
Ronda understands she won’t win all the time – and neither will we. But trust in those seasons of failure, God is stirring up our fortitude, our integrity, and teaching us lessons we need for the next purposed victory. As long as you have breath in your body, and the will to keep going, you’ve got what it takes for a great comeback! Best wishes to Ronda Rousey on her comeback journey, or wherever she decides to go next – and cheers to YOU, Team, for those of us re-building after a loss.
And bravo to Mineo…this is how Team Jesus rolls! We are humans saved by grace, journeying with Christ to encourage others!
Now, go and be greatly loved! That’s WHO you are – win or lose.
