Pickleball Conviction: Training, Gear & Good News

Issue #1

Dill vs. Smashzilla

Based on David & Goliath (1 Samuel 17)

Smashzilla towers at the net with an armful of stolen trophies while players cower and Dill peeks from behind a bench.

Covenant Courts had a problem. A very large problem.

Smashzilla: WHO'S NEXT?! Nobody? THOUGHT SO.

Dill: Somebody should do something…

Smashzilla unleashes a monstrous smash that streaks past a terrified diving player.

For forty days, no one could return a single smash. Some say the balls are still in orbit.

Smashzilla: POWER IS EVERYTHING!

Dill stumbles dazed with stars circling his head after trying to out-smash the giant, his paddle on the ground.

Dill tried fighting power with power. It went exactly how you think.

Dill: Note to self: I am not a cannon.

Dill reads a glowing Bible at dusk while a dream cloud shows a shepherd boy with a sling facing a giant warrior.

That night, Dill remembered a shepherd boy who faced a giant and turned down the king's armor.

Dill: David didn't out-muscle Goliath. He brought what God gave HIM… five smooth stones.

“Yahweh doesn’t save with sword and spear; for the battle is Yahweh’s” — 1 Samuel 17:47 (WEB)

Dill and a diverse team of friends practice the softest dinks at sunrise, five balls arcing gently over the net.

So Dill gathered his friends and practiced the smallest shot in the game. Five smooth dinks.

Friend: That's it? That's the plan? It's so… gentle.

Dill: Exactly.

Smashzilla lunges hopelessly off-balance at a soft dink while Dill and friends leap in celebration.

Turns out giants fall hard, especially reaching for a ball that refuses to be smashed.

Smashzilla: NOOO! IT'S TOO… SOFT!

Dill: The battle was never about being big.

The moral

Courage doesn't come from being the biggest on the court. It comes from trusting God and doing the small, faithful thing well. Goliath had armor; David had five smooth stones. Smashzilla had power; Dill had five soft dinks and friends who believed.