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Our collective stories contain instances of trial and triumph, with our lives held together by the guiding and faithful hand of our Savior. James 1 reminds us:
2 My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials,
3 knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience.
4 But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.

The passage can certainly provide an opportunity for an attitude adjustment. When we are tempted to allow our trials to consume, overwhelm, and disappoint us, God is calling us to rejoice. Because He sees the long game, because He knows what is best for us and is perfecting us for His glory. We can be patient in trial and develop a sense of dependence on the Lord, who walks with us, who guides and empowers us, even in difficulty.

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We can know the nearness of God with us, walking with us through the troubles that we face, knowing that in our weakness, He is strong, and through our brokenness, we can experience His faithfulness. 2nd Corinthians 4 contains these words:
7 But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us.
8 We are hard pressed on every side, yet not crushed; we are perplexed, but not in despair;
9 persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed--
10 always carrying about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body.

The NFL has become essentially a year-round sport - following the Super Bowl, which was less than three weeks ago, there is the Combine for potential incoming players, then the NFL Draft, which has become a sizable event.  Training camp isn't that far away, before the pre-season and the regular season.  It's all about brand management and maintaining awareness. 

This off-season, there has been speculation about the future of one particular NFL quarterback: Kirk Cousins.  Formerly with Washington, he is now with the Minnesota Vikings and could possibly become a free agent soon.  A recent NFL.com report noted:

During Tuesday's media session at the NFL Scouting Combine, Vikings head coach Kevin O'Connell and general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah spoke confidently about the club's ability to re-sign Kirk Cousins, who is headed to free agency next month.

"I believe Kirk wants to be a Viking, and we're going to work to try and make that the outcome," O'Connell said.

Cousins is set to hit free agency after suffering a season-ending Achilles injury in October. The QB recently posted a video of his rehab, in which he was taking drops on the surgically repaired leg.

The head coach affirmed Kirk's contributions, saying: "We've won a lot of games over these two years with Kirk as our quarterback, and I thought he was playing as well as anyone in the National Football League when he got hurt after beating the Packers at Lambeau last year, coming off a Monday night win over the team that represented the NFC in the Super Bowl..." He added, "My feelings on Kirk Cousins have not wavered, and if anything, they're stronger now, having gone through a lot of adversity together."

Cousins was in Montgomery in 2015 to speak at the Jimmy Hitchcock Memorial Awards recognizing Christian leadership in athletics, and his faith in Christ has been front and center.  In fact, a Montgomery Advertiser article published prior to the Hitchcock ceremony that year quoted him as saying this:

"I trust that God has a plan for my life, and I believe he's using things for my good and more importantly, his glory," he said. "So I just trust he's working this all out. Even if things never go my way, I'm going to trust that God's got a plan. Whatever the NFL throws at me, whatever life throws at me, I'm going to trust him."

Cousins is no stranger to adversity in his career - a recent Movieguide article referenced a TBN interview, in which the quarterback said:

...my very first game in varsity football my junior year, I broke my ankle and missed much of that season. And I remember, you know, telling my dad that now I won’t be able to play college football. Kind of complaining and blaming the Lord that He would allow this to happen.”

He continued, “You know those early in your Christian walk when you’re immature. And my dad said, ‘Kirk, you don’t know what the Lord has planned. He’s so much bigger than a broken ankle. You gotta remember the truth of His world.'”

His dad reminded him of Proverbs 3: 5-6, which says, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.”

“And so at that moment, I said, ‘I’m going to take that verse to heart and believe it. And let the Lord direct my steps. It’ll be my job to trust him and to obey him, and we’ll see where he takes this thing,'” he remembered.

The article included Cousins' comments following that injury this season, as reported by the Vikings' website. Movieguide related:

In a press conference, Cousins said, “I so appreciate all the well wishes I’ve received from people. You don’t quite know how many people are in your corner and how many people are praying for you and cheering you on until something like this happens.”

“I’m excited to write the next chapter and see what God wants to do with it, whatever it may be,” he added. “I’ve just kind of been reminded again that my career, it’s not my career. It’s His career that I steward, and I’ve just gotta surrender myself and let Him lead where He wants to go. And when that’s a torn Achilles, I have to accept it just as much as if it’s a win on MONDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL.”

Those comments reminded me of what a football coach in a particular movie said:

I want God to bless this team so much people will talk about what He did. But it means we gotta give Him our best in every area. And if we win, we praise Him. And if we lose, we praise Him. Either way we honor Him with our actions and our attitudes. So I'm askin' you... What are you living for? I resolve to give God everything I've got, then I'll leave the results up to Him. I want to know if you'll join me.

You might recognize those words, spoken by actor Alex Kendrick, portraying Coach Grant Taylor in the movie, Facing the Giants, as published by IMDB.com. 

The fictional character said, "I resolve to give God everything I've got, then I'll leave the results up to Him."  The real-life football star said, "I’ve just gotta surrender myself and let Him lead where He wants to go."  Kirk Cousins can remind us all about our need for dependence on God.  He is the One who desires to write our story, and we have to place ourselves in a state of reliance on Him to see what He will do. 

God works through yielded vessels - and broken vessels.  A season-ending injury for a football player is certainly a challenging instance for such an athlete. But, we will all have our challenges through which we can learn and grow.  Our faith is strengthened, according to James 1, by the trials we encounter and how we allow God to work in the midst of that adversity.