I’ve just been thinking about Akeelah and the Bee again lately. There is a powerful part of the movie where Dr. Laraby, Akeelah’s spiritual father of sorts, recognizes his weakness and backs out of her life. Akeelah looses all confidence in herself because her coach has walked away from her. It’s at this point that Akeelah’s mom turns to her and says, “You don’t need him, Akeelah, you have 50,000 coaches.” The next few scenes you begin to see people in Akeelah’s life who have been anything but helpful step up to the plate and help her learn 5,000 new words she will need to know for the National Spelling Bee.
This got me thinking about life. We all need spiritual fathers and mothers giving input into our lives. I think many times we underestimate how important they are in our lives. But I know a lot of young men who have no spiritual mentor and ache over the lack of true men of God who will pour into them. We must have spiritual parents, but we also cannot underestimate the 50,000 coaches we have around us. If you are part of any kind of spiritual community, you have 50,000 coaches that will train you for the days ahead. Don’t forget to be thankful for the 50,000 coaches the Lord has put in your life.
Travis Kolder 
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