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b'SMASH! TWANG! I picked up my tennis racket off the sidewalk and moped toward the bus. Surprisingly, throwing my racket to the ground hadn\\u2019t broken it. I had lost another match. My mind raced. \\u201cHow could I miss that backhand? It should\\u2019ve been so easy!\\u201d I reviewed every mistake over and over, thinking about how much better I should be by this point in the season.\\n\\n\\n\\nCoach came and sat beside me and said, \\u201cYou played well today!\\u201d I screamed in my head, paused, then muttered, \\u201cHow could you say that? I made so many mistakes.\\u201d\\n\\n\\n\\n\\u201cBut look at how far you\\u2019ve come,\\u201d said Coach. \\u201cYou only started playing a month ago!\\u201d \\u201cBut I just keep making mistakes!\\u201d I fired back.\\n\\n\\n\\nLooking at me intently, Coach said, \\u201cYou can\\u2019t expect to be perfect right away\\u2014or ever. Getting better at tennis requires hard work over time.\\u201d My frustration began to subside as Coach\\u2019s words sunk in. The next thing I had to do was apologize to the team.\\n\\n\\n\\nThis experience reminds me of sanctification. Sanctification is the process of becoming more and more like Jesus\\u2014being set apart from sin for God\\u2019s purposes. Once we put our trust in Jesus, believing in His death and resurrection, we are sinless in God\\u2019s eyes and adopted into His family, but we still have to learn how to follow Him. In the same way, when I was starting out in tennis, I was immediately part of the team. I was equipped with a racket, and I started receiving lots of help from the coach and my team. But I still had to practice what I was learning.\\n\\n\\n\\nWhen we put our trust in Jesus, we are immediately adopted into God\\u2019s family (Romans 8:16) and we are given \\u201ceverything we need for living a godly life\\u201d (2 Peter 1:3). This includes receiving the Holy Spirit and other believers to help us (Acts 2:38, Galatians 6:2). However, we still need to practice obedience to what we learn through God\\u2019s Word. We will make mistakes along the way, but we don\\u2019t need to be discouraged. We can bring our sins and failures to Jesus, trusting in our loving Savior to forgive us and continue walking with us. \\u2022 Dathan Tenter\\n\\n\\n\\n\\u2022 Take a look at Galatians 5:22-23. Can you think of some ways Jesus displayed these characteristics or fruits? Which one of these would you like to see more of in your own life?\\n\\n\\n\\n\\u2022 Consider spending some time in prayer, asking God to guide you and help you learn to listen to the Holy Spirit\\u2019s leading as you seek to obey Him. (Philippians 2:13)\\n\\n\\n\\nSince we are living by the Spirit, let us follow the Spirit\\u2019s leading in every part of our lives. Galatians 5:25 (NLT)\\xa0\\n\\n\\n\\nREAD: GALATIANS 5:16-26'