So I am all about teaching my kids that life isn't fair. That, sometimes, those who aren't any more deserving than them will get ahead, find the favor, make the team. And as we get deeper into the whole adolescent sporting programs, the lesson is easily available to teach.
Something I thought wouldn't happen until the teen years--hopefully late teen years--might just happen from here on out: My child's heart will get broken.
Because at this age (11 years old), a child doesn't always care about who they are going to date or marry, but they care about the teams they are on, the friendships, the gifts God has given them that make them feel special.
My son tried his heart out last week for a spot on the team he'd played on for a year. He did his best, kept up with his other teammates, but the rest of the competition was tough. When my husband came home and said he found out that my son got cut but all of his teammates with the same skill level remained on the team, I lost it. Not because of the fairness game. Not because there obviously was some seniority at play since my son was the newbie.
No, I lost it because I know how much my son loves, not only the sport, but that team. And I just don't want his heart broken.
So maybe I am not accepting the whole, "life isn't fair" bit, even though it's true. My husband and I have been bitter and angry to think about how un-fair this decision was. And we are dragging our feet to tell our son because in the back of our minds we're hoping a coach decides to come to the reality of fairness and deservedness in this case! Wishful thinking? Probably.
Middle school has taken off with a soaring start for my guy. He has no complaints. A year ago, we were dealing with major confidence issues. Baseball seemed to wipe those away. He's good at it, and just kept getting better. I don't want this news to rock his confidence and steal away the luster of his new experience of Middle school.
Baseball tryouts the first week of school? Wow, that needs to be reconsidered!
Two of my friends talked about God opening doors and closing them, when I mentioned this to them. And we are already seeing the truth in this. Just two weeks ago, he was invited to play on a fall team around here, in our own community. Through that, there might be prospects for next year's season. Who knows, God might have closed that door for a reason...so we could be more connected to the community around us instead of driving across town like we have been.
I just hope my son is ready to entertain such divine workings! When you have a child as loyal as he is, it's hard to explain that other kids, other coaches, aren't always loyal back.
Life just isn't fair.
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