Gym Ownership Reflection

My sister recently blogged about her awesome husband and referred to the parable of the talents found in Mathew Ch 25. That same passage has been a theme for Mark and I this last 5 weeks as we have entered this journey of owning and running a Gymnastics gym. Jennifer joked that her husband wasn’t in that parable. He’s the type that received 5 talents but isn’t content to bring in 5 more; no he has to bring in 20 more. We don’t feel like we’re in the parable either…though the principles of the parable hold true.

So in reflection of these first 5 weeks, so many things come to mind. With the way my brain works (seeing details before the big picture) I immediately think of all the 100s of tasks we had to and still have to do. And it is 100s! Things like: scheduling, tax forms, staff meetings, curriculum, cleaning (LOTS of cleaning), learning computer software, setting up bank accounts and autodrafts, ordering toilet paper and soap, getting uniforms, registering with USAG, getting safety certified, cleaning out old accounts, updating roles, registering new kids, hiring and training new employees, drafting and implementing new policies, getting 3 different types of insurance, creating a budget, paying bills, creating a new website, stocking the snacks and drinks…. And of course each of these tasks (and that’s not all of them) involve subtasks like phone calls and errands and spreadsheets… anyway, you get the point…. Wait! where was ‘coaching some of the best athletes in one of the greatest sports’ in that list?? Well there’s that too. And THAT makes all the other stressful stuff worth it! So I have to fight the temptation daily to not get bogged down in the details. I have to admit I fail at that most days, but as soon as I start coaching that night, the stress begins to dissolve. By the end of every workout, though I am totally exhausted, I am full of joy and happiness. I come home in a good mood every night.

So how does the parable of the talents relate to all this? Well if we were in that parable, we would be the one who got 270 talents!!(270 athletes and employees) He trusts us to be Jesus to these people!? Here’s the temptation with so many talents… it’s so many, you can be content to just revel in your blessing: We could run our very reasonable size gym and make a good living and do right by those coaches and kids… but the parable teaches us that that’s not why the entrusting happened. So we’re busting butt, and in 5 weeks, we’re now at almost 400 talents. Of course with that comes more scheduling, more hiring, more training, more accounts to keep up with…. More Work. But for some reason God chose us to be the ones to take on this role of receiver of 270 talents. We have to honor that. Can we turn it into 540? Yes. But not because we’re so awesome at running a business, ha! Please! Neither of us has a business degree! So how do we do that? Well Mark sent out a mass text to all the employees this morning explaining how. Here’s what it said:

“1 Thes 4:1 ‘Walk in knowledge of God that you may (excel) more abundantly.’ Abundant Growth will continue for our families, our business, and our lives as long as we heed the words of Paul here. 3 Kingdom values that come directly to my mind are…Unity of Spirit (John 17), Unconditional forgiveness and love (1 Corinthians 13), and constant communication with God (Luke 11:2-4) Excellence is not achieved through our own ability but by walking in the truth God has revealed to us. So walk in excellence today!”

A business whose owner sends out texts like that, believes that… and a staff that agrees…. That’s how 270 talents get turned into 540!