Marriage and being a pro athlete

By Jeff Becraft

I am actually a professional athlete… who is yet to be discovered.

I am playing injured right now, though.  It’s what professional athletes have to do. I pulled a hamstring doing a 360 reverse slam… on a Little Tikes basket.

The range for the jumper is limitless… anywhere in the living room. One dribble and it is nothin’ but cotton (and we are not talking underdrawers). I haven’t found a grandkid yet who can handle me.

When Brenda and I were first married, my best friend from high school gave me a Nerf hoop. It might have been my favorite wedding present. I hung it up on the utility closet door in our apartment.

If I got home from work before Brenda did, I would grab the ball and start playing. Since I was the only one there, I would also have to give the play by play… out loud.

One time, Brenda walked in while this was going on. I was just falling over a chair and shooting the ball… and giving the play by play at the same time… “Time is running out!  He’s off balance!  He shoots…. It’s good!  It’s good!  THE FANS ARE GOING CRAZY!…”

My wife stood there wondering what she had gotten herself into.

Last Thursday was our 38^th wedding anniversary… and she is still wondering what she has gotten herself into. Through the ups and downs, and good times and bad, 3 kids, their spouses, four grandkids, different careers, living in different places… it has been a glorious journey.

And when I am around her… I don’t even need a basketball… I am still falling over chairs, and being her number one fan, yelling, “THE FANS ARE GOING CRAZY!”

Jeff Becraft is the Interim Director of Our Place of Hope and the Director Emeritus for Youth Corps and has dedicated much of his life to helping shift the vision of people’s lives. Youth Corps is a life-changing leadership development experience that inspires high school students to be leaders in the Midlands and beyond. You can connect with Jeff at  [email protected].