On Saturday June 10, 2000, in Dallas, Texas, the Dallas Stars were preparing to defend their title as Stanley Cup Champions from the year prior. It was Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Finals and the New Jersey Devils were up three games to two. This was a must-win, a do-or-die, a you-lose-you-go-home type of game. The highest trophy in hockey was on the line, and some say this particular trophy is the hardest in all of sports to win. And to win it two years in a row is an even bigger feat. A lot was riding on the line.
He turns his focus away from the pain and onto the puck as it is still in play. He moves closer to the goal, crawling across the ice, no stick in hand ...
As the game started, it was obvious that it was going to be a battle, and early in the first period, Darryl Sydor, one of the Stars "Big Four" defensemen, took a hit on the boards on the near side and his leg twisted underneath him like a pretzel. In the replay you can see the weight of his body fall on top as his knee twists and then pops out from underneath him. He tries to get up and chase after the puck. He quickly realizes that something significant is wrong. His face shows the pain in his leg, but his eyes show the determination of knowing what this game, this play means. He turns his focus away from the pain and onto the puck as it is still in play. He moves closer to the goal, crawling across the ice, no stick in hand. He reaches up to block a shot and in doing so he trips his teammate, Brett Hull. His focus stays locked on the puck and his opponent trying to capitalize on the injury. He tries again to stand up, but is again not successful. He is sacrificing his body in front of the net to help his team. Finally, the whistle blows and the game is stopped. Four medical personnel rush onto the ice to assess his injury and it's bad. I mean really bad. He is helped off the ice by the medical team and he would not return in the game.
Link to the play: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SxeVyz2QuKM.
Sometimes in our areas of influence we can try to play hurt. We can sometimes do it without even knowing it. Playing hurt can be good or it can be bad, but it is never neutral in its effect. The enemy loves it when we are playing hurt, because there is a place that is vulnerable to attack. When Sydor went down, the Stars were down a player. He tried his very best to not make that the case, but ultimately his injury was too much to keep playing. At the end of a hockey season, it is said that everyone is playing hurt, and sometimes in life, in ministry, on our teams, we will go through seasons where it seems like we are all playing hurt. I've got five questions for you to ask yourself to decide if you should be playing hurt.
1. Know if you're playing hurt. Are you?
If you are playing hurt and don't acknowledge it or call it out, you are running the risk of hurting others. Your team or your leaders are thinking you are 100% but you are operating at less. Are you playing hurt? Be honest with yourself. It doesn't necessarily mean that you need to sit the game out, but maybe you play differently and let your team pick up where you are struggling.
2. How are you hurt?
In the example with Darryl Sydor, he was obviously hurt in a physical way, but there are many ways of playing hurt. Some of us play when we are physically hurt, and that is probably the easiest to determine, but what about those of us who are playing with emotional injuries? Maybe something is going on in another area of your life and it takes your attention and focus.
Prayer, fasting, and God's Word are our pads, skates, and stick. They give us protection, strong footing, and the tools needed to play the game.
Sometimes playing in the game with this type of injury is therapeutic, and sometimes it can cause fractures in the relationships of the team. What about those of us who play when we are spiritually hurt. We try to carry the load without the proper support. Prayer, fasting, and God's Word are our pads, skates, and stick. They give us protection, strong footing, and the tools needed to play the game. Without this, we might as well be trying to block the puck with a glove when we can't stand. This is the worst kind of injury to push through while playing. But it's the easiest to recover from. Burnout is a real injury to those who serve in ministry, and it's one of the enemy's favorite places to attack because we often don't want to acknowledge it is there. Be honest with yourself and your leader and take the necessary steps to not burnout before it is too late. Communication is key when the team is involved and you play a vital role. How are you hurt?
3. How hurt are you?
There are varying levels of pain and injury. Sometimes when you’re playing hurt, it causes a little discomfort but you can still play at the top level. Sometimes it’s a little more serious but you are still an asset to your team and you can recover just fine while playing the game. And sometimes, you need to sit this season out to get better. How hurt are you?
... sometimes, you need to sit this season out to get better.
4. Is it worth playing hurt? To you? To the team?
This one is tough because we all want to believe that we can push through and still be valuable to the team. Today, we had a producer and a graphics operator on dueling scooters because of 2 very serious leg injuries, but they still played at a high level and helped the team tremendously. Ask yourself and ask your leaders if the injury that you’re playing with is worth playing through. Is it worth it for your well-being? Are you helping or hurting the team? Come up with a plan to heal. Most times, this plan involves staying plugged into the game. Sometimes it doesn't. Is it worth playing hurt?
5. Can you help the team win?
Like I said a few times before, most times when we are playing hurt, it takes a couple of minor adjustments to get on the path to healing and it doesn't involve having to sit out at all. Most times, we are still helping the team win in the midst of our pain. Sometimes though, we hurt the team because we’re trying to carry a load that we simply cannot carry. Can you help the team win?
In Darryl Sydor's story, he got hurt playing the game, and he tried to get up. He couldn't. When he tried to play the way that he was used to, it tripped a player on his own team. He still had value to the team though because he was on the ice. He adjusted how he was playing to best benefit the team and himself. After the game, he got the healing that he needed and he returned for the next season and played EVERY SINGLE GAME. His stats were higher is every category and he even had more penalty minutes, which isn't necessarily a bad thing.
Communicate, plan, rest, serve, fill in for someone who is hurt more than the game will allow, and block that puck with your hand if you need to.
In summary, this is not to ask people to step out of the game or to discourage anyone to sit the bench where they serve or in life. This is simply a health check on your well-being. Sometimes we can play hurt and not even know it. Sometimes we know it and aren't honest with ourselves. And sometimes we know it, we acknowledge it, but we won't get the help needed. We all get shorthanded sometimes. We can sometimes look at the schedule and wonder how the game is going to happen when we can't field a team for the weekend. But I will tell you this, we are a team. As long as we are honest with each other, we will pick up where others can’t, and hold each other accountable. We are winning, and our Heavenly Captain has already won for us. Communicate, plan, rest, serve, fill in for someone who is hurt more than the game will allow, and block that puck with your hand if you need to. Get in front of that net even if it means crawling to help the team, but don't be afraid to get helped off the ice to go get checked out when you can't stand on your own.
