a lesson from the coach

By Julie Wilson

This spring, all four of my kids are in baseball or softball. Needless to say, this has been a very busy time for our family. Almost every night we are headed out the door to someone’s game or practice. It has been a lot of fun, but also hectic at times.

Last week Jonah and Andie were at their practice and I stayed in the van to catch up on some phone calls I needed to make. I was telling my sister how crazy our schedule was and that we had to go from the girls’ practice straight to my oldest daughter’s game when Jonah ran up to the van and said, “Mom, my coach wants to talk to you. Can you come here?” So, I got off the phone and went down to the field thinking, “I hope this doesn’t take too long, we need to get to Alex’s game.”

As I approached the girls’ coach she had a huge smile on her face. She just wanted to tell me what a joy it was for her to have my girls on her team. She said, “Your girls are so respectful, and polite. They are so sweet and I love having them on my team.” She went on to say that she could tell the girls were being raised with Christian values. She then said, “Seeing them act and behave the way they do makes me want to be more like that, and be more like a Christian.” Wow, was I surprised by what she had said! I felt guilty that I was hoping the conversation wouldn’t take too much time out of my busy schedule that night.

The coach’s words really made me stop and think about the impact of her statement. I never want to be too busy to miss a moment like that. Even amidst our crazy schedule right now, God showed me in that short conversation what is really important. Did it really matter if we were late to the next game? Of course not. If one person can be inspired to change and be more like Christ, then we’ll be a little late! And I know my daughter will understand.