Bench Warming

This year, my daughter moved up to the varsity team in high school volleyball. She went from the proverbial big fish to the new kid behind a dozen ultra-talented girls. Coach talked to her about it before the season started. He warned that she would see very little court time this year but would be positioned as a starter for next year. She said she understood and could accept that. Slugging it out in practice day after day, knowing she will likely warm the bench the entire game didn’t sound so bad in theory. A third of the way into the season, she finds living this challenge harder than she expected.

I know just how she feels. For decades, I've been an expert in my professional field. After twenty years, motherhood is mostly familiar territory. But now God has called me to something new in this writing and speaking business. Now, I am the new kid behind dozens of ultra-talented ladies in the game. Like my daughter, I was warned at the beginning that there would be a long period of practice with little or no court time along the way.

God really thinks He’s funny. It is just like Him to put me in a position to advise my daughter on her frustration. What will I suggest she do? Go back to something that isn’t so hard? Change sports to improve her chances of visibility? I don't think so.

I am always amused when my kids back themselves into a corner where they have to answer their own question. Today, I feel God smiling. He has to be amused, watching me squirm and knowing that in the end I will do the right thing. Just like my daughter. So let the endless practices roll on—for both of us.

What about you? What waiting room are you in today? Is there something you keep practicing only because you know there will one day be a harvest? I would love to hear from you. It's much more fun to travel when others are on the same road.

May you feel His grace today,
Gail W.

The last Word:
I am confident of this, that He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.
Philippians 1:6, NIV.