Lord – Although I cannot play tennis and I am confined to a wheelchair, I was inspired in watching Your child, Coco Gauff, play at the Wimbledon Championships. With beauty, grace, focus, and strength beyond her years, Coco won her match over Venus Williams.

After she defeated Venus, I listened to the post-match interview of Coco. Three things she said touched my heart.

First, before this and every match, Coco said she and her father said a prayer to You.

Second, after she won the match, she confirmed that when she cried and knelt on the court, Coco said a prayer of thanksgiving to You.

Third, during the match, Coco said she had to tell herself…”to stay calm, I’d never played on a court so big. I had to remind myself that the lines are the same…” Coco explained that in tennis the enormity and significance of tournaments, the greatness of the opponent she faces, the conditions of play are always different. But, what never changes are the lines of the court itself.

Lord, please help us understand that although we are all different, we are all the same. In our common humanity, we all live. We all die.

We face challenges, illnesses, financial stress, and conflict at home, at our places of work and in society. Things turn out differently than we plan. Others let us down or break our trust in them. Often we find ourselves to be a part of a problem and less of the solution.

But, You, our God, have shown us the lines that never change as well. Lines we need to focus on, observe, and follow to succeed in our walks of faith and to overcome the challenges we face. Those lines are The Ten Commandments and the lessons from the Bible.

Lord, today and every day, help us to pray for Your support and guidance to possess calm wisdom.

Lord, help us to focus on the never changing lines of Your Commandments and Scripture.

God, thanks for Coco Gauff.

Thanks for You showing us, through her, another example of lines of the path of faith to follow in order for us to win the game of life, to thrive in love and at the end of our days to ascend to a far higher court than Wimbledon could ever be ……to join You, Your Risen Son, and the angels in Heaven. Amen

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Jack H. Emmott is a Senior Counsel of Gray, Reed & McGraw, LLP, a 145-lawyer full service firm in Houston, Dallas and Waco, Texas, a Board-Certified Family Law and Master Credentialed Collaborative Law Professional Divorce Attorney, Mediator, Author, Entrepreneur and Inspirational Speaker. For more information about Jack or his latest book, Bending Angels: Living Messengers of God’s Love, go to the Bending Angel website.