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My sons are the delight of my life! I watch them grow and as they develop into the young men that God has created them to be, I am amazed!
Recently, my youngest son John began football practice. He has always loved football! He can tell you things, and the details about football that even I don't know! He knows stats, statistics, plays, blitz's, and approaches, I mean he is "really" into football! And now, in the 7th grade he finally gets to play.
Well the season begins with early morning practice! I mean these guys have to be up and at the school between 6:15 and 6:30am! They have to get in there and get suited up and on-the-field before the sun is even up! And then there's the running, the exercises, the drills .. none of which I'm sure my son John ever imagined as a part of the game!
One morning, not long after they began full suit-ups and the thing boys love the most - "contact", my son was late coming out onto the field. Usually he's in the midst of the group, so I took a trot back to the locker room to see if he was maybe having uniform problems. I found a young football player, totally suited out, with all of his dreams and his hopes lying broken and destroyed before him in the floor. He was absolutely overwhelmed beyond his wildest dreams. He was in utter tears! I had never seen him so devastated before in my life! I almost cried myself.
The first thing I did was take this young man, his dreams shattered before him, and I pulled him into my chest and I just held him next to me, as he sobbed the deepest tears of disappointment. I asked him what was wrong, and he uttered those words that come so easily when the going gets so tough ... "Dad, I want to quit! I can't do this any more!"
I've never seen him so ... so overwhelmed before. He was devastated! I mean this has been his "dream" ... the big one! He has always wanted to play football - for years! I could not believe my ears! But he was very serious, so, I asked him, "Why?". He said to me, "I'm not any good at this! Those guys are all better than me!"
As I looked into those tear-filled eyes, I could see that he had lost all hope. All of the years of dreaming about this game, and studying it ... playing it in video games and with his friends, and now ... now it seems like it's all over, not just in his mind, but in his heart!
I had to step back. How many times had I given up? How many times had I had a dream, worked at it and toiled hard to see it come to pass ... and found myself in this same predicament - overwhelmed by the opposition. Now I didn't just see my son John before me, but I saw "me" in the eyes of the Father God, coming to Him with tear-filled eyes and saying, "Daddy, I just can't do this anymore! It's just not working out!"
I could feel His compassion, and the tenderness that He must feel towards me. I asked God, "Father, what do I tell my son? This is not just a class he took, it is his "dream"! It is the very thing that he has wanted to do ... for as long as I can remember! What am I going to say to him, knowing that my answer will have a direct reflection on the rest of his life?"
Check in next week and find out what happened ...
Until then ...
Make me proud!
- rich -
Recently, my youngest son John began football practice. He has always loved football! He can tell you things, and the details about football that even I don't know! He knows stats, statistics, plays, blitz's, and approaches, I mean he is "really" into football! And now, in the 7th grade he finally gets to play.
Well the season begins with early morning practice! I mean these guys have to be up and at the school between 6:15 and 6:30am! They have to get in there and get suited up and on-the-field before the sun is even up! And then there's the running, the exercises, the drills .. none of which I'm sure my son John ever imagined as a part of the game!
One morning, not long after they began full suit-ups and the thing boys love the most - "contact", my son was late coming out onto the field. Usually he's in the midst of the group, so I took a trot back to the locker room to see if he was maybe having uniform problems. I found a young football player, totally suited out, with all of his dreams and his hopes lying broken and destroyed before him in the floor. He was absolutely overwhelmed beyond his wildest dreams. He was in utter tears! I had never seen him so devastated before in my life! I almost cried myself.
The first thing I did was take this young man, his dreams shattered before him, and I pulled him into my chest and I just held him next to me, as he sobbed the deepest tears of disappointment. I asked him what was wrong, and he uttered those words that come so easily when the going gets so tough ... "Dad, I want to quit! I can't do this any more!"
I've never seen him so ... so overwhelmed before. He was devastated! I mean this has been his "dream" ... the big one! He has always wanted to play football - for years! I could not believe my ears! But he was very serious, so, I asked him, "Why?". He said to me, "I'm not any good at this! Those guys are all better than me!"
As I looked into those tear-filled eyes, I could see that he had lost all hope. All of the years of dreaming about this game, and studying it ... playing it in video games and with his friends, and now ... now it seems like it's all over, not just in his mind, but in his heart!
I had to step back. How many times had I given up? How many times had I had a dream, worked at it and toiled hard to see it come to pass ... and found myself in this same predicament - overwhelmed by the opposition. Now I didn't just see my son John before me, but I saw "me" in the eyes of the Father God, coming to Him with tear-filled eyes and saying, "Daddy, I just can't do this anymore! It's just not working out!"
I could feel His compassion, and the tenderness that He must feel towards me. I asked God, "Father, what do I tell my son? This is not just a class he took, it is his "dream"! It is the very thing that he has wanted to do ... for as long as I can remember! What am I going to say to him, knowing that my answer will have a direct reflection on the rest of his life?"
Check in next week and find out what happened ...
Until then ...
Make me proud!
- rich -
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