The last two weeks have been so busy that I wouldn’t be able to say if we were “coming or going”! Soccer is about to wrap up for the season, and I have to say that I am actually looking forward to that! The last two weeks, we’ve had a soccer game or a cross country meet every day of the school week except Wednesdays! At the Monday game last week, Wyatt forgot his game shorts (thankfully, he had an extra pair even though they weren’t quite the right color!). On Tuesday, Travis came to school and realized that he had one soccer cleat and two feet! Um- yes! Thankfully, Roger was able to swing by home to get the soccer cleat before coming to the game. So, we’ve been making it through these long days, but I don’t know that we’ve been thriving!
Two weeks ago on Saturday, (10/8) signaled the last of Saturday’s soccer games for Travis and Emma. They were happy that they had the opportunity to play and even Travis ended up enjoying those Saturday mornings. He’s the youngest player on the school’s traveling soccer team, so he doesn’t get a lot of playing time. After the Saturday game, we had our first introduction to Krispy Kreme donuts! We’ve become friends with the Hardison family (they have three boys), and they invited us to come to Krispy Kreme. The boys thought that Krispy Kreme had better donuts than Dunkin Donuts, and we had a great time of laughter and fellowship.
Nearly two weeks ago, Chandler had a cross-country meet. This one was different than cross-country meets in the past as there were over 500 runners at the meet. The boys race had over two hundred boys running in the race. It was a good race for Chandler as it came him some good, stiff competition. We’ve been wondering if Chandler could break 19 minutes if he was pushed, and he did it! Chandler came in 7th in the meet. He had a time of 18:27, and it was his best run of the season. Roger, Emma and I had to leave after his race so that we could get back to pick up the other boys from soccer practice. Chandler said that he thought he’d like to come home with us, but we encouraged him to stay to get his award. Chandler does not do great getting up in front of people, but this was a positive thing for him to do. We are proud of all the hard work he has put into the season. He has one more race this season, and it’s for the state cross-county meet coming up in a week.
This past week I’ve felt like we spent a lot of time washing uniforms and finding clean soccer socks. The boys had an away game on Monday, Tuesday, and a home game on Thursday. Chandler had a night cross-country run on Friday. The soccer team got to play a game “under the lights” on Tuesday night, and that was a fun experience for them. It was made even better by the fact that they won the game! We haven’t won a whole lot of games this season, so a win was very exciting! The team is young, and I’m excited to see what the next few years will bring for them as they continue to play together.
However, if there’s one thing I’ve learned over the season its that I’d rather coach a team of “not the greatest” players than be the coach of some of these teams that have such poor attitudes and a poor testimony. It’s very sad to me that all the teams that we play are in “Christian” leagues, but they surely don’t all act like it. Last week, the referee called out a player for making fun and using poor language against some of the other players. Attitudes like that are often “caught and not taught”. If poor sportsmanship, bad language and poor attitudes are allowed during practice or off the field, that will certainly be carried over into the games. One of our sons made the comment this past week that some of these players act worse than some of the public school kids he played with last year. My word! These things should NOT be! It’s led to some interesting dinner conversations around our table though in the last few days. A student asked me, “Is it morally wrong to be a poor sport?” My answer: “Yes, it is, actually. If our lives are to be a reflection of Jesus Christ, then so should our words and actions.” I was reading a devotional by Charles Spurgeon once and the statement was made ‘Preach the Gospel always, if necessary use words.’ I want my life to be a reflection of my relationship with Jesus Christ. My prayer would be that others would see Christ in me.
I was able to substitute teach in fifth grade last Friday, and I really enjoyed it. It’s good to get to know the students, and fifth grade is a fun grade- most of the time! It was a long day, and then it was followed by soccer practice and a cross-country meet. Wyatt and Travis had the opportunity to go home with some friends after soccer practice, and that was such a good thing for them. Finding good friends and building new relationships can always be a challenge, so I was glad that they had this opportunity. I often find myself sitting with Laura (the mom of these two boys) at about every soccer game, so it’s been a fun time of laughter and fellowship as of late. Speaking of late, it was a last night! Chandler had a rather rough run on Friday night, but he did it. I don’t think he ate enough during the day, and then running a 5k at 7:30 at night was rough. But he survived it. Garett, Emma, Roger and I made it to the meet, while Travis and Wyatt were able to hang out with their friends. It was a very late night, but Saturday was on the horizon!
Also this past week, Garett did his driving with the instructor. He drove the 6 required hours and observed for six. He is now ready to proceed to the DMV to get his permit! (I’m not sure that I am ready for that, but here we are already!) I think that Garett will be a very cautious driver, and it will be nice to not have to sit around for sports practices to be done! I am excited for him, but I’m not sure I’m ready for this new transition!
Speaking of transitions, the pastor spoke on trusting God on Wednesday night. He was referring to the Israelites getting ready to cross the Jordan River and how that was a time of transition for them. Sometimes during transitions, it can be hard to trust God.The pastor referred to many different types of transitions, and whew- our family has been through a lot of them in recent years. Here are a few:
1) Loss of a loved one (in 2020, Roger’s boss and dear friend died suddenly. It shook the company and his death was the first one that greatly impacted our family)
2) Geographical change- this has happened twice just in the last two years. Last October Roger was taking a job in Michigan. This October our family is in North Carolina.
3) Family separation- Roger was working in Michigan last school year and I was teaching in Maine. Our family was separated for weeks at a time and that was hard on everyone.
4) Changes in finances- when God began to reveal that Michigan was not His long-term plan for our family, there was a shift in our financial situation. God has always been faithful.
5) Family changes- we are transitioning from parenting children to young adults. This is a huge transition as we navigate through uncharted waters. In some ways, parenting young children was easier. The days seemed so long when the kids were young, but now we are working through much deeper issues of the heart.
6) Church changes- we attended the same church for the six years we were in Maine, and now we’ve had to work at finding a new church home.
7) School and academic changes- we’ve changed schools; I’ve changed job positions; we’ve experienced a whole new set of academic changes and procedures!
However, through ALL the transitions, God has been faithful. I’ve had my moments where I’ve wondered what God is doing or how this is going to bring glory to His name, but He has been so faithful! I’ve doubted and worried, and God has given peace in the midst of the storms. We serve an amazing God! What a privilege to live my life for Him!
We spent the weekend recovering from the week! It was nice to have a low key day at home. Of course, I did have to go grocery shopping because everyone still likes to eat! As I mentioned, we are entering the last week of fall sports. The boys have a soccer game tomorrow that they would really like to win. I’d like to see them win this game, butI want them to give God glory no matter what the outcome may be. Wyatt and Travis will be going on the Middle School Retreat tomorrow, and we are praying that God will work in their lives. Middle school can be a challenging time for children, and we are praying that they will be encouraged to live their lives fully for God right now!
Thank you for your prayers.
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