Ironically, the movie Overcomer started on a losing board when the protagonist’s team lost a much sought after basketball game. The team hoped for opportunities to win the next season but they were hit with surprises and the Yoruba adage ’20 children cannot play for 20 years happened to them’.

They didn’t have to wait for 20 years because most of the players had to move to another city for socio-economic reasons and there was just a coach left without a team. The teamless basketball coach, John Harrison was forced to coach Cross Country, a running game, without a team.

We were also introduced to a girl, Hannah Scott who steals for whatever satisfaction it gives her and we were finally presented with a disbelieving coach and a single cross-country runner because one runner matters and one runner could still win medal without a team. It was funny to see the disbelieving coach chanting to himself ‘Don’t die, don’t die’ when he challenged himself to run because he actually looked like he was dying🤣.

In this movie, one can pick that it is good to reaffirm to our loved ones what they mean to us when John’s wife said ‘John, you are a good man’ and John said to his wife that their first son Ethan is a good elder brother. Give people their eulogy, recognise and verbalise their good deeds to their hearing don’t wait for when you don’t have them with you anymore.

We were also introduced to a patient who was slowly dying of diabetes, Thomas Hill, when John Harrison bumped into an hospital room when he accompanied his Pastor for hospital visitation. That day a life-changing relationship was established. It is also good to note the phrase ‘history has already happened’ when John was invited to function as judge at a drama monologue audition. This phrase implied that there is no need to worry or be anxious about the reviews of your past rather be optimistic about the future yet to unfold and maximise the opportunities that lies ahead.

The Harrisons unpleasant situation became more real with 10% pay cut, no scholarship option for the good son Ethan, no possiblity of winning with an asthmatic runner. John is left with a pointless job that has no future, he was angry about it and took out his anger on his wife, Amy. But Amy employed a good conflict resolution approach of apologies and reaffirmations of how precious John, her husband is to her. John apologised too and they were back to being good. Of course, their children watched and be rest assured their children picked the good lesson of conflict resolution.

Also, the wife happily supported her hubby’s cause and made him do better. This was seen in the scene when she happily screamed at Hannah’s 34th position while the Coach was pessimistic about his runner’s effort. The phrase ‘So, what’s your plan Coach?’ from Amy to her husband implied her effort to bringing out the best in her husband and seeking for his ability to bring out the best in his runner.

At John’s 2nd visit to Thomas in the hospital, Thomas asked John ‘Who are you?’ and he failed in the knowledge of himself. Being a basketball coach, history teacher was important to John than being a father and husband, what a priority! And of course being a Christian came last on his list.

What have you allowed to define you? Truth is your identity will be tied to whatever you give heart to. John had relegated Christ to the very last place in his life, so much for being a christain. Sometimes, like John you claim to know the Lord but you don’t act like it. Finding your identity in the One who created you will change your perspective of what comes first in your heart. Thomas told John how he recklessly lived as a champion athlete in his youth, how sickness humbled him to meeting Christ, and how he found his identity in Christ.
It was later unravelled that John’s runner was Thomas’ daughter. You would think they will just reunite the father and daughter, rather they made decision to pray about the reunification of father and daughter because the Harrison’s couple recognised the importance of God’s presence in their doings.

Hannah Scott was told about her dad and after some days she agreed to meet her father, Thomas Hill. It was an awkard meeting and the Harrison’s couple hoped they did the right thing. The girl requested that she wanted to see her father again to talk alone. She went to see her father and the father explained how he had made bad choices, ran from all of his reponsibilites and he apologised for leaving her.

The principal of Hannah’s school was her dead mother’s friend and she has been paying for Hannah’s school fees. She invited Hannah to her office and introduced Hannah to Jesus.Hannah accepted Christ, studied the word more and she realised her identity as a child of God. It was awesome! She went to see her father in the hospital and she gladly told her father that she is now a follower of Christ and she has forgiven her father.

The embittered grandma got to know that her granddaughter had been reuniting with her father and she vented her rage to the Harrisons for reuniting Hannah with her father. The Harrisons went back to God to pray for wisdom while the Grandma went to the hospital to vent her her hatred for Thomas Hill and requested that he should leave Hannah alone.

Thomas turned to God asking for chance to spend with his daughter and somehow God changed protocol that runners were allowed to use earplugs during the final race and John realised that was the chance for Thomas Hill to train his daughter through recorded audio. On the finals’ day, Thomas Hill coached his daughter through the recorded audio all through the final race and guess what the 3 times best runner coached his daughter to victory.

The recorded audio was a message from a loving father to a beloved daughter on a victoriois race. If you ever need a reason to watch this movie then the recorded audo should be your reason. The audio’s message implied that life is a race and to win, you have to find your winning pace, take the race step-by step, have the winning mentality and braced up to fight through victoriously. Don’t give up until you get to the finish line.

Hannah won the State Championship race, went in to see her father, acknowledged she had a good coach in her father that led her on to victory and it was a sweet victory that reunited everyone. Thomas Hill died six weeks after his daughter’s victory which afforded him time to make loving, beautiful memories with his daughter.

Let me leave you with Hannah Scott’s final words in the OVERCOMER movie,

‘At some point you will ask yourself who you really are? I used to struggle with that. I felt like I was a mistake and I had no place in this world. I felt unloved and unwanted, I got so many mixed messages fromn the world around me that I lived in confusion most of the time. But when I met the one that created me, I found my identity. It doesn’t come from what the culture says or how I feel at any given time. The creator gets to define His creation. I still have good days and bad days, I still struggles but through all of that I know that the one who loves me and died for me is with me, he overcame everything for me sin, suffering and death. So, I walk with him every day and trust in him everyday. And since my identity is found in him, I know exactly who I am’.

It was so beautiful to see that Thomas Hill used the remaining days of his life before he died to record messages, prayers for his daughter’s birthdays till her 30th birthday☺.

Find your identity in the One who created you and enjoy the Father’s love. Be rest assured you are an OVERCOMER no matter how tough the journey may seem.

Enjoy the rest of your weekend! Je t’aime mon ami😘😘