Kingfish Rule!

So, I'm a soccer mom. The one on the left belongs to me. His name is Dylan and he'll turn 9 in little less than a month. It's a strange place to be; Soccer Mom Land. There are uniforms, cleats, shin guards, fees, snacks, schedules, nets, water bottles, balls, practices, games, makeup games, positions, coaches and competition. I know virtually nothing beyond the basics about the sport, but have daydream-esque hopes of him being great at it (like "Pele great" at it), sticking to it through college and possibly even traveling to Europe as a family on an all expense, first class trip to watch him play in THE "football" game of all time, paid for BY him to show us his undying love for all of the sacrifice and support we've offered him over the years. I mean...why else do we do it, right? It's definitely not for the practices that come two times a week or the games on a Saturday morning/afternoon, in this league sometimes a Sunday afternoon, nor the gas money it costs to transport to and from (and these days, that's nothing to sneeze at), nor is it because of the time that cuts into homework, chores and family time. Why am I a loud cheering, no clue about the rules having, soccer mom? Here's why! A peace came to me today while watching my precious boy play soccer. It wasn't because I wanted Dylan to have more play time and he got it. And it certainly wasn't because I wanted him to be have a cool nickname and he earned it just as everyone was watching. It's definitely not because the coaches feel like they couldn't possibly survive a game without him (he spends his fair share of time on the sidelines). Sure, he made great gains from last week: he went from kicking the ball out of bounds everytime he came in contact with it, to consistently kicking to teammates IN BOUNDS (I sense a nickname coming on here...). But even that improvement in my son's performance did not determine the peace in my heart. The peace came in knowing that my son, with God can do anything, and I do believe and mean anything he puts his mind & heart to. Right now, his mind is on having a bit of an afro - influenced by his older stepbrother's current hairdo; and sometimes it's being a solid, patient defender for his soccer team "The Kingfish", and less times than that, it's being a good listener (did I seriously tell him four times in five minutes to pick up those socks????), but when he puts his mind, heart and soul into something that is rooted in God out of joy and a confidence that can only come from our Maker, I see our Lord and King in him and that brings me peace. I can sit in the 40 degree rainy weather with blankets and umbrellas, sipping tea to warm my insides and smile and cheer for this little boy because I know his greatest accomplishments will be connected with love for/from God. Thankfully "Wheels" (pictured above) is a friend whose parents share the same convictions. So though Dylan isn't the star of his soccer team, I have peace as I glimpse what his life has the potential to look like with our King as the coach or the goalie, or whatever the best analogy is for God being the key element!?! So, yes, I'm in the Soccer Mom Club and I have true peace that no matter Dylan's performance on this team that in life, with God as his King, the best is yet to come. Goooo KINGfish!