"win more"
1 Corinthians 9:19
Another volleyball tournament a couple of weekends ago. The Apple of my Eye and my Amazing Boy weren't able to go, 'cuz my boy had a baseball game, and my sweetie is one of the coaches.
So my mom joined me for the volleyball tournament. This is a fairly rare occurrence, as volleyball tournaments are incredibly complicated affairs. For starters, we don't know until the Thursday before the tourney where it will be held (which could be as much as 75 miles in any direction. Except west. 75 miles west, and we'd be in the Pacific. And that, at best, would be water polo, not volleyball.)
Once we know which facility is hosting, we need to know the ground rules. Any food allowed? Do we bring our beach chairs, or are there bleachers? Is there a cost for admission? Where do we park, and is there a cost? It's truly unconscionable what these places will charge. Are the girls allowed to bring their lunches, or are you going to force us to buy from your overpriced concession stand menu?
And even when we know all that, there are still possible difficulties, like the fact that it's really uncomfortable for my folks to sit on stadium seating for several hours. So if it's not a place that allows beach chairs, they're probably not going to come. And sometimes, even if we can bring our chairs, it's so crowded we can barely find room for our three chairs (mom, dad, brother) much less my folks.
All that to say that my mom doesn't come as many volleyball tournaments as she'd like.
But this was a great tournament for her to attend. My Awesome Girl's team has had a rough go of it this year. Let's call it a "rebuilding" year. She and her teammates work hard, but they've been outmatched for the most part. I'm sorry they've had to face so many losses, because I know how hard that is for someone who's competitive, but I also know there are valuable lessons in losing, so I'm praising God that He wastes nothing.
I also love the camaraderie and support among the girls. They encourage and cheer one another so genuinely that sometimes you can barely tell they're losing ~ except for the furrowed brows. So although this year hasn't been easy, I know there's been growth and lessons, and of course, a few good friendships.
But this tournament ~ ah, this tournament, they rocked. Won the first match two out of three outright. The second match they lost, but they took it to three games, and the third game was close, so lots to be proud of. The third match they also took to three games, and they won the tiebreaker. Not to mention that two of the games they won during the day, they won by such large margins, that they were the overall winners for the day in their bracket.
Clearly I should bring my mom more often...
But I made an interesting observation as I was watching all these games. For most of the year, as the girls have struggled, my prayers have been modest and humble ~ somewhere along the lines of "Please let them win just one." And they always did, and I was happy. I had a bright spot to point my girl to, when she was frustrated that the team didn't do better. I would talk about teamwork and great points and that one game!
But little by little, as we did well and scored lots and won games, I realized I was still hoping to win each game. I was hoping for more.
Now, to be honest, I wouldn't really say I was praying for more. That would have required a conscious decision to ask for more. No, I was just hoping. Wanting. It was an instinctual thing, I guess. Or maybe I'm just more competitive than I think.
It was a bit of a warning to me. Now, please believe me when I say that I'm not like this in all areas of my life. I own fewer shoes than any woman I know. And I like it that way. I own a couple of necklaces, a handful of bracelets, and about half a dozen pair of earrings. I just don't need a lot of stuff.
On the other hand, I could never have enough dark chocolate. And I hoard brown paper bags. And I admit, I frequently want more where my kids are concerned. (Not more kids, mind you. I just want to be able to say "yes" to them more often.)
Coveting sneaks in somehow. We want what God doesn't want us to want. Or we want without giving any thought whatsoever to what He wants. We even justify it somehow, believing that we've earned it, or we deserve it for all the losing we've had to endure up to this point.
But if we're going to pray "Thy will be done," then we have to follow up by reminding our hearts to want His will. Hope for His will. And pray for His will.
~ "God has dealt graciously with me
and I have enough" ~
Genesis 33:11
~
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