Upward

Little man finished up his Upward basketball season last weekend, and I'll be honest, even though it was nice not rushing from gymnastics to court side, I missed it!  Growing up playing rec basketball, a member of the middle school and high school teams, playing super competitive basketball, I was a bit hesitant of the Upward league.  They had some rules that bothered the competitor in me.  You HAD to play man to man, you couldn't switch even after a screen.  If a team outscored their opponents by more than 10, then the scoreboard didn't budge until they were back within range.  I wasn't sure if it was teaching the kids real skills.

However, I watched Brent grow so much over the eight week span.  His ball handling, his defense (his defense a lot---he learned that he wasn't a little Lebron, he had to work with his teammates), his ability to anticipate what was coming next, and his confidence.  Not to mention, Brent grew in Christ.  He asked me some pretty tough questions about heaven and hell and what happens after death.  He asked me about people who don't believe.  I am certain this questions were spurred by verses learned at their weekly practices and the devotions held during halftime and post games.  David's response to Brent's questions usually is "ask Rachel," no matter what it's about--from fractions to faith.  But this time, Brent turned to me first.  Having that responsibility is huge, but I guess knowing that I spent a lot of time teaching Sunday School and forcing him to read the Picture Book Bible in kindergarten, left me as the resident expert.

So, even if I disagreed with some of the ways the games were played, I can't disagree with the deeper message.  Even though I didn't love some of the rules skewed, I can't help but love my favorite little man wanting to be more like Christ.  Having a child look to you and want to know more about what it means to be a Christian kinda makes all the "rules" look much less important.  They didn't always win (his team finished 8-3, so they did have to lose gracefully), we haven't had awards day, so I'm not certain if they all are awarded trophies or not, but you know, it really doesn't matter.  I'm a huge fan of Upward sports because the life lessons it's taught my little man far outweigh his draft chances anyway.  In a day where bullies are driving kids to unthinkable acts, where families can't get along, where kids are left alone to be independent way too much, there needs to be some rays of sunshine. This league is certainly some sunshine in our community.