A Great and Valuable Part of the Team!

Spring football started last night.  It was pouring rain, but we still had a blast!  Abe coached Jackson and Tyson's team, and Jordan played on a different team an hour later.

All the boys played awesome, but Jordan was the champion of his team.  He ran a pick 6 (which is an interception for a touchdown) and 2 more touchdowns after that.  He grabbed at least 20 flags off his opponents not letting the other team score even once.  I was cheering loudly "Go Jo Jo!! Go Jo Jo!! Gooooooo!!!!!!!"

There were only a small handful of parents watching the game because of the rain.  Abe and I spent time talking to most of the parents finding out about their kids, but I kept looking at one parent who stood off on the side.  She never smiled once; I kept wondering why she looked so sad and mad.  She kept calling her son over to talk to him and still never smiled; she only looked stern.  I had all kinds of ideas running through my mind as to why she may not be smiling.  I didn't really know why, but I couldn't stand it anymore.

I called over to her and said, "Hey!  Your son is doing great!  What's his name?"  She told me, and Abe made a few comments about some of his plays and how cute he was.  She responded, "Oh this is his first time ever playing."  We told her again how great he was doing.  He was sooo darn cute. :-)

The next time her son had the ball, the miracle happened!

He had run the ball before; but this time, his mother burst into a huge smile, clapped, and actually threw her head back with joy and laughter!!  She immediately looked over at us with the happiest look on her face.  We had connected!  We cheered  loudly for her son with her.  It was really quite amazing how big her smile was!   It was BEAUTIFUL!!

My heart was touched very deeply.  I turned to Abe and said, "Did you see that?  She's smiling... and laughing!!!"  I know it's not my job to make everyone smile, and some people may be highly irritated at my efforts!  ...but her smile taught me something about human nature.  I believe that most of us are just waiting to connect with others.  We're just waiting to feel a part of something.  After we talked to her, she had the reassurance that her son was a great member of the team no matter how much he knew about the way things are done on the field.  

I began to ponder about church... Maybe some people are wondering if they are really a valuable member or part of the church team... maybe they're new.... we're all still learning.  Sometimes people may come to church for the first time and have a stern look on their face.  It could be interpreted as them wanting to be left alone... but maybe their expression is actually one of just nervousness instead.   Even I have felt nervous at times and wondered if I'm valuable; and when others open their arms to me, it melts those feelings away.  It is quite possible that many of us just need a simple and sincere welcome, a smile, and reassuring words.