It All Comes Around

It has been the coolest thing since we moved to Rockwall! Matt plays indoor soccer at the RISE here and so every week, he drops by the house on Sundays and Tuesdays before his games. The boy eats us out of house and home - carbs only. In fact, he is dreadfully distressed that his parents are low-carb-consumers in our old age. His greatest hope is that I will have made some cornbread or some biscuits that are left over. Anyway....that's not what is cool. It was just an observation. I had forgotten how much boys eat.

SO....here's the thing. Tonight Matt was playing and he didn't drop by the house. So I got to his game and dawdled a little in the parking lot because that is the only way my sister and I ever get to talk on the phone - while we are both driving places. She always calls me on Saturday night on her way home from working at Baylor (she is a nursing student) but she has forgotten for the last six months - every Saturday - that we go to Saturday night church. I think all her brain cells are used up on school. But I digress. I called her on the way to Matt's game and so it made me a little late for his game. Well, not really late. I just like to get there early to shoot the bull with the guys. I missed that this Sunday and so I scurried in and went up the stairs to the galley seat and the guys were warming up. I sat still for just a few minutes and then I did it! I stood up and yelled, "Hey Matt! I'm here."

Now thankfully, he and his friends are used to me. He just looked up, rolled his eyes and half-waved. You know that - "is anybody looking?" type wave. It was OK with me though because really I just wanted him to know I was there watching. AND THAT WAS WHEN IT DAWNED ON ME - all those years I sat out in bone-chilling cold watching him play on every kind of field imaginable and he would yell, "Hey Mom!" and wave his little arms at me until I waved back. He just wanted me to know he was out there. To make sure his mom was paying attention.

Isn't that just so sweet? How life goes full circle. Really cracks me up.

It bears making the analogy: we are also on a playing field - the playing field of life. We're in the game - sometimes on the sidelines, sometimes in the heat of the game, sometimes we're practicing hard, sometimes not so hard - but nonetheless earth is the training field for heaven. And each of us - really want to know that God is in the bleachers for us, with us, cheering us on. And the wonder of it is - He is. Our biggest supporter. Our number one fan. Our cheerleader. Our never-failing Father. He doesn't dawdle on the phone. He is never distracted by the other fans. His eye is on you/on me. He never misses our successes and He is never put out by our failures.

Because I have the distinct privilege of being a soccer mom again, I can assure you that it is a delight to watch my child play. And I can assure you that I am intensely biased. My own experience allows me to sense our Father's delight in our lives. I believe He is just as biased TOWARD you and me. And just knowing the joy I find in Matt's game, I smile to think of God's joy in me and you.

Tonight I got caught up in conversation with some of the kids in the galley and missed Matt's score. I do that occasionally. So I just consider it a time delay when I yell, "Way to go, Matt!" Again, he rolls his eyes and later asks, "You weren't watching, were you?" ha He has his mom pegged.

God's eye is ever on you. He knows when a sparrow falls to the ground - how much more value are you to Him? You - His creation. You - the apple of His eye. You - the one He sacrificed His son in order to bring you home. There is no greater love than this. Beloved, He never misses your scores!

It all goes around. From a little boy on the soccer field waving to his mom on the sidelines to the grownup man with his mom waving to him from the sidelines. Life is a circle and life is good.

Starting Behind - Or Am I?

Well here it is already the 12th of January and I have not blogged since about this time in December. My first thought was - "I'm already starting this year behind." Or so you might think IF you happen to check in periodically to even see if I'm posting anything. But as I pondered my apparent lateness and the what-ness of my post, I realized I have not been behind at all. I have been living.

It made me smile to realize that. I have spent a lot of time with my family this holiday season. And it was a lovely time. Not rushed. Not fussy. Good time. The time where you do what you want to do and just enjoy one another. I also spent a lot of time in the Word. Finishing up last year's Bible reading, journaling and Life Group and then beginning again in 2011.

I had a sweet friend come and spend a few days with me while Billy was out of town and I went out of town with him and spent time with other family members in the state of Florida. Lovely. Quiet. Peaceful. Moments. Lived.

So I might have neglected to blog for a while but I have not neglected to live. And really - isn't that more important?

I have spent a lot of time in the valley of the shadows. It was mandatory time. You can't skip grieving and truthfully, I am the better for it.

And even that was living. I know it was because it hurt so badly. You can't live without feeling.

So I just want to say to you - live. Not just a warm body that's breathing. Live with eyes wide open. See God. Be aware. Savor the moments. This is really all we have.

And what I have discovered is that I am happy. Happy with the simple joys of life. Happy to know that the hard things are only temporary. Happy. Right now there is a remnant of snow on the ground and it's really too cold to do anything outside so I just have to sit and read and thank God for all the goodness that is mine. Today.