My daughter had her first soccer scrimmage today. She is
in 5th grade and is playing for the first time; and due to us being
at a K-12 school the athletics allow a 5th grader to play on the
middle school team. This particular team not only has kids that are older than
my daughter but I was also told that 7 of them play club soccer…
My daughter started feeling quite overwhelmed and nervous
about the scrimmage. She recognized her lack of understanding of the game. (What in the world is “off-side”? Where does
the “forward” play”? Etc.) She was thinking about the mistakes she had been
making in the practices. She recognized that she was inadequate to provide the
same thing the older and more experienced players provide… So we had to remind
her that now she is part of the team and the expectation is that she get on the
field when the coach calls her number; to compete hard and give what she’s got;
to trust that her teammates are there for her.
During the scrimmage I loved watching my daughter compete
for the ball! It thrilled me when I saw her teammates helping to direct where
she went to teach her! (There was even one older boy on the opposing team that
new she was learning and he told her when she was off-side.) It was a great picture
of both individual responsibility and team responsibility. (Galatians 6:10
tells individuals to bear their own load; yet verse 2 had already told the team
to bear one another’s burdens… the things the individual is unable to carry on
his own.)
So what about you? Are you in the game? Are you doing your
part? Maybe you aren’t the most gifted or experienced speaker… can you help
hand out supplies/food/water to those in need? (I guarantee you that some of
our MAD Squad can plug you in to some real game time of service!) Maybe you
have read some of our posts for the financial needs for needs (i.e. Carolina’s
medical needs) and chose not to give because you don’t have as much money as
others do… well I can tell you that a $10 from a poor man is just as important
as $1000 from a rich man!
The Coach has called our number! Our performance in the
game is not about how we measure up to others but instead are we going hard and
giving what we can? And then are we picking up each other as teammates and
helping learn the game better?
I’m here for you! You here for me? (What about for folks
like Carolina? Over a week ago I posted of a great need in that 14 yr old girls
life. We have had a handful donations and covered just over 20% of the need.
Yet we have had a very small percentage of those that have seen the need
respond… Get in the game folks! I love you enough to tell you as a teammate “where
you need to be on the field”…)
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