Life turns and sprints away; I often come across quotes worth remembering—not simply because they inspire me, but because they tell me something true. They remind me of the basic truths I need to put into practice, especially when life asks more of me than I feel ready to give.
I think of motivation as the match that starts a campfire. A match provides the spark, but it cannot keep the fire burning. That takes fuel, attention, and effort. A great speaker or a memorable quote can strike the match. The rest is up to us. We must turn inspiration into action and keep adding fuel long after the initial burst of enthusiasm fades.
Dante Lavelli
The quote I have been thinking about lately comes from Dante “Gluefingers” Lavelli: “Life turns and sprints away, and what could you do but follow?”
Lavelli’s words remind me of Paul’s determination: “forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark” (Philippians 3:13–14, KJV). I can be grateful for the past without asking it to become my future. There is still work to do, still good to offer, and still room to grow. When life turns, I can trust God for the strength to take the next step—even before I can see where the path will lead.
Lavelli’s life gave him many opportunities to put those words into practice. He played football at Ohio State before serving in the Army during World War II. He fought in the Battle of the Bulge, returned home, and went on to a championship career with the Cleveland Browns. Between football seasons, he returned to Ohio State to pursue his degree. After his playing career, the future Hall of Famer operated a small furniture store in Rocky River, Ohio, helping support his wife and three children.
Philippians 3:13–14: “…forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.”
Transitions
Those transitions could not all have been easy. Each required him to leave something familiar and step into a life he had not yet learned to live.
Ohio State gave him an opportunity, and he took it. The war changed his course, and he answered the call. When the war ended, he began again. When his playing days were over, he built something new.
Each time life turned, Lavelli found a way to move forward.
James 1:22: “But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.”
I imagine he would have preferred Ohio State’s campus to a battlefield in the Ardennes. The daily demands of running a furniture store surely offered fewer cheers than winning championships with the Browns. Yet each chapter had its purpose. Football brought achievement and recognition. The store helped provide a home and a future for his family. There was dignity in both.
Power in Words
Moving forward does not mean the past was easy to leave behind. It does not mean forgetting what we loved or pretending that what hurt us no longer matters. It means recognizing that we still have a life to live—and that our next chapter deserves our effort, too.
That is what makes Lavelli’s words so powerful to me. Life does not wait for us to feel prepared. Sometimes it opens a door we have long hoped for. Sometimes it closes one we thought would always remain open. We cannot choose every change that comes our way, but we can choose how we meet it.
Galatians 6:9: “And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.”
We can take the next step even before we have all the answers. We can apply what we have learned to unfamiliar circumstances. We can discover that the strength we built in one chapter is exactly what we need in the next.
“Life turns and sprints away.”
I cannot always control its direction or match its pace. But I can keep moving. I can meet the future with courage, curiosity, and a willingness to begin again.
The quote provides the spark. My next step supplies the fuel.
(The inspiration for this post came from the obituary of Dante Bert Joseph Lavelli, dated January 22, 2009)
Finding the right path in life can seem like looking for Waldo. But God looks at it differently.
In my more than seventy-five years, I find it interesting that I spent fifty years doing what I love, for the most part, yet I remember data points but not the effort it took to achieve them. I have spent over thirteen thousand days perfecting my craft, and I recall facts, but most of the emotion has been lost to time. Yet a chance meeting with a stranger decades ago remains vivid in my mind. His need outweighed my inconvenience. The emotion of that encounter is real, as if it happened yesterday. I can still see his eyes. The pain in them was deeper than anything I had experienced. Later in life, I, too, would have his eyes. I, too, would know what it is like to feel emotional pain that defies words.
This morning, I found myself thinking about how God interacts with me through the Holy Spirit, prodding me toward a life worth living. My mind slowly turned to why He puts certain people in my life—often people with problems.
One unfortunate aspect of God’s love is that He allows us to experience the natural consequences of our sin. If there were no consequences, we would not learn to avoid sin. Sometimes the consequences last long after we have repented.
Here are the four important lessons I have learned in life.
The single most important thing a leader can give their best people isn’t perks or even money; it’s a goal worth their time. That is an important point. Whether we accept the role or not, as Christians we are leaders. As Christians, we are watched, and people decide whether what we say we believe in is worth investing in.
Heroes vs. survivors. We don’t grow up wanting to be just survivors. I think most of us grow up wanting to be heroes because heroes are simple.
Another year, another Birthday has arrived.