14
Wednesday, June 29, 2016 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon
Life with a
Willing
Heart
Jayson Berray
Columnist
photo provided
Anne Geser, ryan Hudson, Cenobia Gonzales and doreen Matecki.
Sisters lifters shine
in powerlifting
Weightlifters from Sisters’
Level 5 gym turned in stel-
lar performances in the
2016 USPA state power-
lifting championships held
June 18-19 on the beach in
Newport.
Team Level 5 brought nine
lifters to the coast and came
back to Sisters with lots of
hardware and state records.
The team consisted of four
men, three women, and two
youth lifters that all together
earned 10 gold medals and
one silver medal. The lone
silver medal was second only
to another Level 5 lifter.
The team set an impressive
total of 30 new records.
“Couldn’t be more proud
of our team’s performance!”
said Team Level 5 coach and
lifter Ryan Hudson.
Hudson earned a couple of
first-place finishes and hon-
ors as best overall lifter, also
setting a new American squat
record of 517 in his class.
Brady Wessel took gold
in the junior division, while
setting junior state records
in squat, bench, deadlift
and total.
Joe Mendez set a new
record of 380 pounds in the
age 40-44, 198-pound weight
class on his way to another
Level 5 first place.
Jon Rumgay took first
in the 35-39 division while
Cenobia Gonzales in the 198
weight class took first place
in the open division and first
place in the 35-39 division
with a new open state record
in bench press and new 35-39
state records in squat, bench,
deadlift and total.
Doreen Matecki earned
first place 50-54 division
with new state in squat, bench
deadlift and total.
Anne Geser set new state
records in squat, bench, dead-
lift and total on her way to a
first-place finish.
Jadynn Mendez took a
youth division gold with state
records in squat, bench, dead-
lift and total, and Cam Wessel
took silver in the 123-pound
weight class.
For lift poundage and
more details, see online story
at www.nuggetnews.com.
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Learning
and growing
with my kids
The interesting and
complex thing about chil-
dren is that they are con-
tinually growing and
adapting, almost as though
they are intelligent and
self-aware robots placed
here by extraterrestrial
lifeforms.
As a parent of these
beings, I have found that I
must grow and adapt along
with them or else the task of
parenthood will crush me.
The tricky part is that grow-
ing and adapting involves
challenging the things I
think I know about the
world and what it means to
be a human.
I was raised to be a cer-
tain way — mentally, emo-
tionally, and spiritually. The
man that I have become is
comprised of an intricate
system of beliefs that dic-
tate how I think of and react
to the world around me.
But as I have gotten older
I have realized that some
of these beliefs which form
my supposed identity are
misplaced.
So where does that
leave me? What happens
when my own journey of
self-discovery and matu-
ration overlaps that of the
precious lives I find in my
charge? Is it possible to
reformat my identity and
the things I have learned
while at the same time
continuing to lay a strict
foundation for the people
I wish for my children to
become?
I guess what I’m getting
at is this: I don’t believe
that I will ever arrive at a
place of completion regard-
ing my journey of learn-
ing, and as much as I wish
that were the case, I have
come to find that there
is value in growth never
ceasing.
So how do I reconcile
a never-ending journey to
gain wisdom and knowl-
edge with the formative
years of the young ones?
Aren’t I expected to pro-
vide for them a concrete
picture of what existence
should look like? It’s a
daunting task, and one
which wigs me out more
often than I would like to
admit.
Yet, even though I still
have my own mental and
emotional struggles, that I
have to look at the fact that
I turned out relatively OK
and that my parents did the
best they could with what
they had. All I can hope
for is that I do the same
for my children — messes
and all.
I think that what we are
all afraid of is making mis-
takes. It can be a paralyzing
and crippling fear, but what
is life if not a grand series
of mistakes that all culmi-
nate in a messy yet beautiful
existence?
The other day I was sit-
ting in a McDonald’s in
Bend with my three chil-
dren and my son, the old-
est of the three, suddenly
asked me what God looks
like. I found beauty in this
question because of both
its simplicity and its com-
plexity. Even though his
question was posed from
the standpoint of his own
journey as a human of five
years it caused me to really
look at and reevaluate my
own view and idea of God.
To have another human
being hang on your every
word when you try to blun-
der your way through an
answer to such a question
is really intimidating. But
as I stumbled through my
answer I suddenly realized
that it was OK if I botched
it because the true answer
came down to transparency
and authenticity on my
part.
Even if my answer con-
fused him, it would be OK
because he and I are on a
journey together and as long
as I remain true to the things
I have learned along the
way and the role to which
I have been called in his
life, he will end up seeing
that the answer at the end
of the journey isn’t what
really matters, but rather it
is the journey itself which is
important.
May we all live that jour-
ney authentically.
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