One of my favorite Detroit Red Wings’ hockey players is Luke Glendening. I like how he plays the game. Even though he is not the most talented member of the Red Wings, he gets everything out of his natural ability. He is a gritty player. He has always faced challenges in his hockey career.

Overcoming Challenges

He surprisingly made the University of Michigan hockey team as a walk on. He eventually earned a scholarship and was the University of Michigan’s captain by the end of his career. He became a key member of the hockey club. He was not drafted in the National Hockey League Draft, but signed a free agent contract with Detroit. He is originally from Grand Rapids, Michigan.

He has battled as a professional hockey player to become a very effective 3rd or 4th line player. He often plays against some of the top players of the opposing team. He is a relentless checker and has also can chip in with some goals.

He grew up in a Christian family and made an early commitment to Christ. But he writes:

When I was 18, I left home to attend boarding school. My first lesson was that I couldn’t rely on my parents’ faith anymore, I had to claim my faith as my own. It was one of the hardest years of my life. I made excuses for some bad choices, but God’s grace and mercy – and some tough love from people back home – got me through.

Luke mentions some God-moments, where God clearly intervened in his hockey career. One of the major ones was the time God granted favor with the U. of M. coaching staff, which enabled him to make the hockey team as a walk on. Not many non-scholarship athletes make the team of a major program like University of Michigan.

Cultivating A Mature Relationship With Jesus

In his testimony, Luke goes on to say he has struggled with the temptation to use Jesus like a good luck charm. “I have to remind myself that Jesus is not a ‘rabbit’s foot’. He is God’s Son who desires a relationship with me.” I think Luke is referring to the need for a Christian athlete not to look to Jesus as some genie in the sky who just gives us what we want when we are in a bind. He does desire for us to communicate with him, but it is part of a real personal relationship that includes all of life.

Luke continues to be reminded that he is a work-in-progress. I think any self-aware Christian can identify with Luke here. His favorite verse is 2 Corinthians 12:9 – “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness”.  Even in our imperfection and brokenness, God can use us for His glory and purposes. May the Lord continue to be at work in Luke and through Luke. God is able and He will do it.

QOTD: Do you have a testimony of God working in you and through you for His glory and purposes?