The young darts enthusiast, Adam, stood excited and ready in the training room.

Today was his first day training to be a darts champion, and while he hadn’t actually played darts before, he just knew in his heart that he would be brilliant. He had found the darts gym by chance one day, as he walked around the town on a hill where he lived. The sign outside said:

“Free Darts Training on Sunday mornings with coach Joshua Cordero, reigning world champion. All are welcome!”

Immediately he had walked in and signed up.

Now he stood there with a bunch of darts in his left hand, ready to throw the first dart with his right.

Soft jazz music could be heard from a record player in one corner. The tunes help to relax the mind, and prepare it for a calm, steady practice session. That’s what Coach Joshua says anyway.

“Now, Adam, can you see the Target?”

“Yeah, yeah, it’s up on the wall over there.”

“Hmm. Okay, then. At the centre of the target, there is a mark. Can you see that?”

“Yes, of course I can.”

“Okay, that’s good. Are you sure? You seem to be squinting quite a bit.”

The truth was, that Adam’s eyesight was pretty bad. But he didn’t like to admit it. So he carried his glasses with him, for emergencies, but he hardly ever put them on.

“I’m fine, seriously. Jeez, I can see just fine.”

“Okay then. Good. Why don’t you step up to the line, and just give it a go. Take the first dart, and just throw it as best you can, and try to hit the mark.”

Adam stepped forward to where he thought the line was (it was all a little blurry), and looked at the target up on the wall. It was circular, with a small bright red circle right in the middle.

The mark. That’s what he needed to hit. He was nervous- he really didn’t want to miss the mark. Even though it was his first dart throw ever, he felt that he should be able to prove straight away how good he was. Then coach Joshua would see his potential and be proud of him.

Adam took the dart, took aim, and threw it forward with speed. Thunk! It smacked into the circular target and stuck, but it didn’t quite hit the mark, it was more off to the side.

“Good job Adam. Good effort. We’ll work on your accuracy, don’t worry, but you’re definitely throwing the dart, which is a good start.”

“Yeah but I missed the mark!”

“Mhmm. You definitely missed. That’s okay, we’ll try again. But first, are you sure that you can see well enough? Don’t you have some glasses you could wear?”

“Jeez, I told you already, I can see just fine.”

“Aha. Well then, let’s give it another go. Can you see the target, and the mark?”

Adam was getting fed up with Joshua’s focus on his eyesight. How dare he tell him that he can’t see! Did this Joshua think he knew Adam? Just because he’s a world champion dart thrower doesn’t mean he’s a friggin’ eye doctor too, thought Adam, I’ll show him!

“Yeah, yeah! I am looking at the target right now. I’m telling you, I can do it!”

Although on the inside, he was getting a little uncertain… he noticed that there were also some other circular shapes on the wall. Was he really aiming at the right target?

Of course he was! What else could he be throwing darts at?

And Adam threw another dart, this time sticking it closer to the middle, but still missing the mark.

“Dammit.”

“That’s okay, Adam. Just relax, let the music calm you. You can miss as often as you like, you don’t have to be perfect straight away. I’ll help you get to the point where you miss the mark less and less, until eventually, one day, you will never miss the mark again. And it won’t even be difficult for you then. You’ll play darts with absolute joy! And, you can already play with joy now. Because it’s okay if you miss.”

Adam had to admit that this made him feel a bit better. He had worried so much about missing the mark, but Joshua’s words made him feel more reassured and at peace. But a niggle of doubt still plagued him.

“Thanks, coach. But are you sure it’s okay?”

“Yes, Adam, that’s perfectly fine. Now, before you throw your next dart, please answer me truthfully: can you see?”

Adam was about to answer defensively again, when he thought better of it. Maybe he could trust coach Joshua. Maybe coach wouldn’t make fun of him if he was honest. Maybe it would be worth hearing what coach had to say and learning from it. So Adam swallowed his pride:

“Actually, I can’t really see. Everything is blurry without my glasses. But I don’t like wearing them though.”

“Okay, thanks for being honest Adam. Now I want you to put your glasses on before we continue, okay?”

“Why? I’ve been throwing the darts at the target! I know where the mark is, now I just need to hit it! The glasses won’t help…”

“Just trust me on this one, Adam.”

Grudgingly, Adam reached into his pocket, took out the glasses, and put them on.

And as he looked up to the wall where he’d been throwing darts, his heart sank. The wall was decorated with several rare jazz vinyl records, hung neatly by their centre. He had thrown the darts right into a first edition Miles Davis record, with a bright red centre. The darts had utterly ruined it and it would never be playable again. Tears welled up in Adam’s eyes as he saw what he had done.

“I’m so sorry. I’m such an idiot. Sorry, please forgive me. I’ll make it up to you.”

Coach Joshua patted Adam on the head, kindly.

“You don’t have to worry. I was right there, remember, I saw you take aim. I forgave you before you even threw the darts. And I have plenty of other records, you don’t have to make anything up to me.”

And Adam looked up into Joshua’s face and saw the kindness there. Then Joshua went on:

“Now, why don’t you go get those darts and turn around and face the other wall… I think you will find it’s much easier to hit the target when you can actually see it.”

And from that day forward, Adam wore his glasses everywhere, and showed up regularly to training with coach Joshua. Over time, he got better and better at hitting the mark, and eventually, much, much later, his darts skills were just as good as coach Joshua’s…

…And the best part: he enjoyed every day of training.

–

Read John chapter 9. The whole chapter, but especially verse 41.

–