Perhaps the most difficult thing about being the parent of an athlete is the complete lack of control you have sitting in the stands.
I coached AAU basketball for about 6 years as both an assistant and head coach so I know how difficult it is to fit all the kids into both the system and the game. So you’d think that would make it easier to sit in the stands waiting for my son to have his name called. It doesn’t. In fact, it makes it worse because I’m convinced I could do a better job than the coach – just like the parents thought they could a better job than me.
I think it all comes from my inate lack of ability to wait – for anything: traffic lights, grocery store lines, you name it. I even find myself pleading with the microwave . . .
In Romans 8:19-25, the Apostle Paul writes that all creation is waiting – even being held back by God. He likens us to a pregnant woman who waits for the birth to begin. Sometimes the process is painful but the pain is a neccessary part of the process. He finally says that the waiting does not diminish us but makes us stronger.
I’ve been in an extended holding pattern. I’d complain about the waiting but I wore that out long ago. I’ve finally realized that the pain of the waiting is what was needed to get my attention. Message sent and received.
Hey, the coach just called my kids name – gotta go!

Pressing on toward the goal . . . (Phil, 3:14)
Revdrkid