Today was a really bad day. Not in what we did. Ian had a great interview in Memphis & will find out in a few days if he gets to go to Europe next summer. Lynnea had an all day basketball tournament, her first on the team, so we spent the rest of the day when we weren't in Memphis at their school. No, it was just an emotionally bad day. You know, most days it doesn't bother me so much that I don't fit. I've learned over the years to protect that part of my heart. But, today was hard. And I was crabby & didn't handle it well. But, as is so often the case, one of my children gave me an attitude adjustment without even realizing it.
Lynnea has never played basketball in her life, she's only in 6th grade, and she's very small for her age. She's a spitfire, though, and she made the middle school team. She's on the JV team, so for the tournament today, she spent 4 of the 5 games on the bench. She had a great attitude all day, did her best during the game the JV-ers played, and encouraged the rest of her teammates. After the tournament I drove her the 40 minutes to Humboldt for a birthday party. Throughout the day we had talked some, and as we drove I asked her again what kinds of things the coach told them after the games. They had lost all but one game, so their coach was understandably not very happy. Lynnea said that there were times where they had to go outside & run. All of them. Whether they had played that game or not. She accepted that without any complaints.
And then she began telling me what the coach had said. In Lynnea's words, it was things like: "She said we needed to pass the ball more." "We didn't play our positions." "We needed to stay between the other team & the basket better." And so on. Even though she had sat on the bench most of the time, she took ownership of everything the coach had said. She plans to work on every single thing in order to make her game & the team better.
As someone who spends most of my time sitting on the bench, I can & should learn a lot from my daughter's attitude. This bench-warming time is when I can learn from the good & bad things others do in the game, keep a steady intake of advice from the coach, and be thankful for & give my best effort when I'm allowed in the game, even if just for a few minutes. My life verse is Phil. 3:16- "But let us live up to what we have already attained." God doesn't expect me to do the things I haven't learned yet, but He does expect obedience in the things I do know. And as I learn more, I am expected to put those things into practice. As I continue to grow in my faith, my opportunities to get in the game will increase. Faithfulness in those things will result in even more playing time. It is extremely humbling that my 11 year old gets it, yet it's so hard for me to remember sometimes. I'm hopeful that one day I will consistently be a starting player, but in the meantime I pray that the Lord would continue to give me a humble, teachable, faithful heart to do my best in the waiting.
Saturday, October 23, 2010
Saturday, October 2, 2010
10 People
Earlier this week my kids were having a conversation about the end of the world as we know it. I think maybe Mark let them watch too much of "The Colony". Anyway, their question was, if something happened & you were the last person on earth, what 10 people would you choose to have with you? The only rule was that they could not be in your family.
I started thinking about my answer to that question, and there were a few things that were very interesting to me. One was that I knew immediately where I would want to live if there were only me & ten other people left on earth. Not that that was surprising, but I realized that the where I want to be now has changed significantly from what it used to be. Now, knowing that I am supposed to be doing whatever I can to introduce people to Christ, and I have an assurance of where He most wants me invested in that, my "place" has changed from a couple of years ago. But, if that mission was removed because all the people were gone, I would live in my other favorite place. Not earth shattering, but interesting to me all the same.
Then I thought about how hard it actually was to think about not choosing family members. Obviously this is hard with immediate family, both sets of parents, and others that we are closest to. But it was also very hard to think about not choosing extended family, even those I don't have opportunity to have close relationships with right now. It hit me that this feeling is very similar to that of not wanting anyone I love to die without knowing Christ.
The third thing I noticed was that, considering the rule that I couldn't choose family members was in place, it was surprisingly easy to choose 10 people. In fact, it was probably less than 10 minutes before the decision was made. It made me realize the value of having those people in whose love I can trust and who I would want with me no matter what.
The most thought-provoking thing about the whole conversation was the answers the kids gave. While I was thinking through all of my relationships, they were naming off their 10 people. Ian & Lynnea both named a couple of friends. But the rest of their answers included the following: a farmer, a cook, a mechanic, a teacher, a gas manufacturer, a pilot, a pastor and a locksmith. So, I started wondering. When do we get to the point where our relationships are more important than having our needs met. Or, is there not a point when that happens, but rather, personalities who prefer one or the other. Or, are my kids better at knowing the wisest choices in a time of need than I am? What do you think? And how would you answer that question? Who would be your 10?
I started thinking about my answer to that question, and there were a few things that were very interesting to me. One was that I knew immediately where I would want to live if there were only me & ten other people left on earth. Not that that was surprising, but I realized that the where I want to be now has changed significantly from what it used to be. Now, knowing that I am supposed to be doing whatever I can to introduce people to Christ, and I have an assurance of where He most wants me invested in that, my "place" has changed from a couple of years ago. But, if that mission was removed because all the people were gone, I would live in my other favorite place. Not earth shattering, but interesting to me all the same.
Then I thought about how hard it actually was to think about not choosing family members. Obviously this is hard with immediate family, both sets of parents, and others that we are closest to. But it was also very hard to think about not choosing extended family, even those I don't have opportunity to have close relationships with right now. It hit me that this feeling is very similar to that of not wanting anyone I love to die without knowing Christ.
The third thing I noticed was that, considering the rule that I couldn't choose family members was in place, it was surprisingly easy to choose 10 people. In fact, it was probably less than 10 minutes before the decision was made. It made me realize the value of having those people in whose love I can trust and who I would want with me no matter what.
The most thought-provoking thing about the whole conversation was the answers the kids gave. While I was thinking through all of my relationships, they were naming off their 10 people. Ian & Lynnea both named a couple of friends. But the rest of their answers included the following: a farmer, a cook, a mechanic, a teacher, a gas manufacturer, a pilot, a pastor and a locksmith. So, I started wondering. When do we get to the point where our relationships are more important than having our needs met. Or, is there not a point when that happens, but rather, personalities who prefer one or the other. Or, are my kids better at knowing the wisest choices in a time of need than I am? What do you think? And how would you answer that question? Who would be your 10?
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