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Key Bible Verse: I am the favorite topic of town gossip, and all the drunkards sing about me (Psalm 69:12). Bonus Reading: Psalm 34:17–19

A boy by the name of William Webb Ellis was playing soccer for a British school by the name of Rugby one day in 1832. Due to a lapse of concentration, Ellis caught the ball and ran to the goal with it instead of kicking it. Laughter and ridicule ensued. But instead of laughing along with everyone else and profiting from his mistake, Ellis was psychologically damaged, becoming painfully sensitive about his "mistake."

Someone who saw Ellis's "mistake" let it spark his imagination about a new sport in which the ball would be caught instead of kicked. A blunder became a boost to creativity, and a new sport was born, a sport never envisioned by the person who inspired it: rugby, the parent of football and the national sport of New Zealand. The Rugby World Cup has a worldwide viewing audience that, for a sporting event, is exceeded only by the Soccer World Cup. The trophy awarded every four years is named, ironically, after the person who never claimed or envisioned the sport he "invented": the William Webb Ellis Cup.

—Leonard Sweet in Soul Salsa

Adapted from: Soul Salsa (Zondervan, 2000).

Prayer for the Week

Wise Father, keep me from getting sidetracked by setbacks. Instead, prod me to grow by overcoming them.

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