A half hour earlier we were walking in from the parking lot, schlepping the gear we need: Gatorade, goalie gloves, soccer ball. A coach we know walks along side us and Ethan greets him "hey coach!" "Ethan! Hey man you know it's too bad your family has a no playing on Sunday thing. Wolf Pack (the elite travel team that many of his friends play on) wants a goalie and they mentioned you by name. You would have made it." I was furious. What I thought and what I said were not the same thing. What I said was we have more important obligations on the Sabbath. Then we went and signed in.
I watched my boy line up shoulder to shoulder with the other kids. A line of coaches carrying clip boards walk down the line writing down jersey numbers. Some kids are nervous. You can tell by the way they shake their hands or hop on their toes. I know Ethan's not. He's out for the consolation prize- playing on a team where his skills while greater than the other kids also have little chance of improving with out the challenge of harder opponents. You can't serve God and mammon. I wish wish wish we lived in a world where everyone honored The Lord and played on their own time instead of His. But we don't. I don't know what Ethan will grow up to be or how he will choose to live his life but he will have no doubt where his parents stood. Hopefully he'll also know how proud we are of him. He's smart and kind and a good athlete. He's a leader and yet humble enough to listen to his mom and dad. The whole Sunday sports thing has been a real trial to him...and to us.
To make matters worse my sunglasses broke:(
Way to be! I love it when people stick up for what they believe and do what's right no matter what. It gives strength to those around you to do the same. That life lesson is so much more important than soccer and he'll be telling this story when he speaks around the stake as a high councilor. :)
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