The last post was on the front side of the Adapted Floor Hockey Tournament. Now we're on the back side of it having spent two days screaming our brains out in support of the Mustangs. It was an extremely fun time as all of the kids played well! Oh and yes we did manage to capture that coveted title of "State Champion."
I could recap the events of each game, but you can look at the Minnesota State High School League site if you want the recaps.
What I really want to highlight are two items not specific to the games.
First, I was struck in worship at church today by the contrast in a worship service and a sporting event. In our tournament games, we were all cheering and jumping and supporting and praising our kids. We used an enormous amount of energy to attempt to will them to a victory. When we saw that last goal hit the back of the net, we all rose to our feet and roared our approval. As each player was announced as a part of the State Championship team, we continued our praise. The kids had reached the coveted prize and we were there to celebrate with them.
In the worship service this morning some of the words jumped out at me. Things like "the seas will roar" or "the rocks will cry out" or "the moon and the stars declare who you are." The creation is cheering and praising the God of the universe. By singing praise, I was joining the creation that is cheering and praising the God of the universe.
The interesting part to me was that I saw cheering for my kids (and other sports teams) in a new light. I spent that energy (and if you don't know how much energy I spend at a tournament as anyone who sits near me) cheering and supporting and praising the kids as they worked toward a temporary prize. Yes it was an important achievement for them. They dug down deep to work past exhaustion and obtain the goal. But that prize, as important as it is to them (and yes to us as parents and grandparents) pales in comparison to a permanent prize.
The permanent prize I am referring to is spending eternity with the God who made us in His image. Jesus won that permanent prize for us when He gave Himself up and died on the cross for all of our sins. A worship service is an event similar to a tournament game. The slight difference is that the prize has already been won. We cheer our God and praise Him for giving us a permanent prize - life eternal.
When I looked at a worship service through the parallel of a sporting event, I found that I wanted to sing louder, clap harder and jump up and down in praise to our God for that permanent prize.
I plan to continue to cheer for my kids and their sports teams to obtain prizes even if they are temporary. I also plan to cheer for my God and the permanent prize he has won for us.
The second big thing was how my son, Josh reacted to a statement I made after the tournament. I was discussing with him the victory and how well he had played. I told him the only sad part for me was that one of his teammates did not get named to the "All-Tournament" team. Without missing a beat, Josh said "Well I could give him one of my plaques. I have 3 of them." In one sense I was stunned, but at the same time I wasn't because that's Josh. He is extremely generous.
I told him that it was a nice idea, but that I wanted him to think about it. I really had not thought that he might react that way I was merely commenting that his teammate had been deserving of the honor as well. (I had also heard from others that they felt the same way). The next day, Josh got up and said he had decided he would give the plaque to his teammate. So he went to church, took his teammate aside and gave him the plaque.
All of his accomplishments in the tournament paled in comparison to his thoughtfulness and generosity toward his teammate. I'd love to tell you that I taught Josh how do be like that, but I didn't. He does it on his own with the gifts God has given him. Oh that we could all be more generous like Josh.
What a privilege it has been to be a part of these experiences these last few days.
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