1 Thessalonians 5 verse 16 says, “Always be joyful.”
This is what a friend shared today in PAWS to all the kids of the school. He shared about fruit and that we all produce it. But this…..”always be joyful” is what stood out in my mind.
It reminded me of this scripture… “Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy.”
SERIOUSLY!!!????? JOY!! That is not what I always feel! I know a lot of times I have a smile on my face and you can hear that smile in my voice…but deep down…joy is not always my first reaction.
Allow me to share what happened last night…….
LOVE this boy!
This is my son Bryce. He is an awesome 11 year old….wise beyond his years. Anyway….last night he had a football game. He was playing great and I was loving it! I was talking with my mother in law and one of the moms got my attention and pointed to Bryce. He was on the sidelines crying and was upset. I watched to see if he was hurt…but could tell by his demeanor with his coach this was not a hurt cry…..this was a mad cry. And…for those of you that don’t know him….he DOESN’T cry at football. I watched and the coach kept talking to him and then sending him off and calling him back and talking to him more. I hadn’t seen the end of the play and no one seemed to know what had happened. I kept a close eye on him and after a bit…..his coach sent him off the field and told him to ice down because he needed him out there. I sat by him and we iced his wrist. I asked him what had happened. He didn’t want to talk. I asked him if they had called a penalty on him and he said they hadn’t. Finally, he said that a player on the other team was making bad hits and hurting them and the refs weren’t calling it. This upset him. But I knew there was more. So I pressed…….what REALLY happened???? He then looked at me and then looked to see if anyone else was watching…..no one….so he gave it up…… He and this kid had collided and then after the play the kid had thrown him down and then hit him after the play was over. He had put out his hand to block him and his hand went into the other kid’s facemask and had twisted his wrist….. That was bad enough…but it gets worse. Bryce looked up and saw that the ref saw what had happened….he kept looking at the ref to make the call…and not only did he not flag the other kid for a late hit….but the ref laughed. And THAT is the straw that broke the camel’s back for my son. This was why he was so mad.
Well…he iced down and went and played some more…and he played hard. We won. But not without several injuries to our players. My son noticed that our coaches stood up for our players (thanks to all of you for that btw!) and that they kind of got in trouble for it!
On the way home….we called his dad and were telling the story and he really got upset. Again, it wasn’t because he was hurt…..it was because someone didn’t do the right thing. Then…..as I passed by in the hallway after he was brushing his teeth..I saw him with his elbows on the counter and his hands over his face…..crying. I went in and held him and he said, “Mom…it just still hurts my feelings that ref laughed at me!” He held me tight and just cried.
I tried to explain to him that not everyone made the right choice all the time and that not everyone played with integrity. I told him how proud of him I was that he got out there and played the way he did. He did tell me though that he was in serious pain and that if it still hurt that bad in 2 days he would go to the dr. But for now…he just couldn’t let his coach down.
So…..joyful…..not really. Not until the moment that I realized my son had integrity and was noticing that others weren’t making good choices. But when someone was hurting my baby….no….joy is NOT what I was feeling.
But….thank you Lord for turning my thoughts around. Thank you Lord for showing my more of my son’s heart. Thank you for this opportunity to teach him a lesson about life….how it isn’t always fair and it isn’t just kids that mess up! This morning I thank you that my son’s fruit…..at least during that game….was something I…….and You…could be proud of.
Joyful….yes..to have him as my son. Joyful….yes…to have the opportunity to teach my child these lessons. Joyful….yes..but not quite ALWAYS! I am working on it!!
My Life as a COMMA! 
Yes, Cheli– much joy for Bryce to already be ‘mature beyond the years of others’ and shame on the ref who is ‘immature’ and cannot discern what his duties were. It’s only uphill from here on out for Bryce and sad to say this ref may have reached his mental plateau and could heed from a lesson from ‘ the mouth of babes.’
Unfortunately, referees in those games are paid such a small amount , so may times rejects are hired to referee. I have so many stories to tell about my boys that I cannot even count. What lessons this does teach however, are that his parents are so much better than other adults and that adults are not always right by any means. Sorry this happened but I can commensurate
well…little belle…that was a sweet story…reminds me of pricer…garrett would prolly have reacted badly..price would have been sad…hmm…i would have done both…joyful…not so much…but knowing you…brings me great joy…i love you sissy