"Lord, I don't ask that I should win, but please, please don't let me finish behind Akabusi."
Psalm 71
Do not cast me awayDo not cast me away when I am old. Do not forsake me when my strength is gone. Ps 71:9
Ryan Giggs has played more times for Manchester United than any other player - 781 (January 2009). He has earned 28 winners' medals including two Champions League victories, a record 10 Premier League championships and four FA Cup wins. But all things must come to an end. Ryan said recently: "I will keep playing as long as I enjoy it, I am fit and the manager wants me".
The end of a player's career is often a difficult period. In the world of sport you are very much cast away when you are old. If your strength has gone you are of no use to the sports team. Former SF49er Guy McIntyre summed up the career of the pro sportsperson very well: "Iím in the team until they find someone bigger, faster or that they can pay less to".
Retired players often go through an identity crisis when they retire. One recent retiree said "When I retired, something happened that took me by complete surprise. I quickly realised that athletics was more important to my identity than I believed possible. I was the best in the world at what I did and suddenly that was not true any more. With one facet of my identity stripped away, I began to question the others and, from there, there was no stopping. The foundations of my world were slowly crumbling."
Those of us who minister to sportspeople need to understand that retirement from playing can be a real crisis point, when one's identity is under threat. The world quickly loses interest in the retired player. Does the church? Do we as sportsministers?
The great truth is that we have to cling on to, and to give to the retired player, is that God does not cast us away when we are old and not ever! Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever (Hebrews 13:8) - our age or our strength is not relevant.