Root, Root, Root for the Home Team!

I could probably live the rest of my life without playing another sport. Don't get me wrong, I love a rollicking game of bowling every now and then. And our family reunions are not complete without the ringing of horsehoes. But I'm not a sport-lover. However, I have a kid who is. "Justice" loves anything that involves competition. In fact, when he was young, that is often how I would get him to do something he didn't want to do. "I bet I can get my bed made before you can," I'd say. Off he would run to beat me to it. Of course, I always used the time to sit down on the bed and read a page out of a novel, just so he could win.

Now that he is older, he wants to play every sport offered. I recently had to put my foot down on adding wrestling when I discovered that he would be triple-booked on Thursdays. So now we have entered into the season of middle school basketball. Tuesday night his team played their first game. They start their season later than surrounding schools due to the lack of a gym for the middle grades. But they looked good. They were a little rough and by the end of their second game, they looked like they could benefit from a little extra conditioning, but that's not what I took away from the night. I learned (again) that God loves me just because I'm HIS.

"Justice" scored the first basket of the season and the game just seconds into it. He rebounded, he raced up and down the court, he scored, and he even made a foul shot. He is not, by far, the best player on the team, but he had a decent night. Of course, we hooped, we hollered, and flashed a thumbs-up when he looked our direction. But the night didn't go that way for the whole team. They lost their second game. They lost bad.  Regardless, we were proud of the way "Justice" conducted himself. As my husband told him on the way home, "You looked like a basketball player."

He tried his best, followed the rules and represented his team, his school, and us as his parents well. That's why we were proud. Not because he scored the most points (he didn't). Not because of his amazing 3-pointers (there weren't any). Not because he didn't make any mistakes (there were several). But simply because he did his best and because he is OURS.

That is how God feels about me too. He notices when I try my best. He gets the glory when I follow the rules. He is blessed when I represent His team, His Son, and His Spirit well. That's why He loves me--because He's my Father.

Nikki Studebaker Barcus