Fall is absolutely my favorite time of year...and one of the reasons why is because of the changing of the color. I grew up in Minnesota and I always loved seeing the many shades of color fall would bring...reds, oranges, yellows...and as a kid I also loved raking leaves (or waiting for dad to rake the leaves) so I could jump in. But part of the fall that gets me is "change". In our lives, we are constantly changing. I moved to Colorado nine years ago - it's hard to believe I have been out here almost a decade of my life.
Fall in Colorado...it's definitely different than Minnesota, that's for sure. For starters, it happens a lot earlier than the midwest, and when the leaves change, it can be in an instant, and then they're gone. It doesn't mean that I like this time of year less...it just means you have to pay more attention to it or it can be gone before you know it. Storms seem to blow across the Rockies faster than the Road Runner in a Bugs Bunny Cartoon. Fall is kind of like that as well...there's so many sights, sounds, smells, etc to take in that I don't want to miss any of it.
And the change happens whether we would like it to or not...there are moments I would like to pause and take in forever. This year a friend of mine and I went up to Mt. Evans, my all time favorite spot in the Rockies to see the leaves change (or at least, one of my favorite spots and it is close enough to home that you feel like you are a million miles away, yet you are still within an hour from Denver)...and you don't have to quite make it up to Eisenhower Tunnel, which with traffic can be a real bear to fight.
Anyways, where am I going with this. For the last five fall seasons, I have been the Junior High Volleyball Coach at a wonderful Christian High School. I have learned so many lessons from coaching, more than I can ever go into. What I didn't expect was all the memories I would recall while coaching. I remembered past coaches I had, ones I loved and ones I would rather forget. Plus I saw glimpses of my competitive nature come out a bit too much and remembered that coaching is about so much more than winning or losing. If I am going to really make an impact in the lives of these young volleyball players, then I need to let the Lord shine through me. The hard part was my fall coaching season seemed to be like the changing colors of the fall season in Colorado. It always snuck up on me before I was quite ready for it, and before I knew it, the two months of the season flashed before my eyes and the season was over. And I was left wondering, did any of this make a difference for the Lord. Are these girls better off now than they were at the start of the season.
This past spring, I went to the Athletic Director of our school and resigned as the Junior High Coach, immediately followed by bursts of tears as I had to let go of part of my life I really felt the Lord had given me as a gift. In turn, I went to our Varsity Coach's home. Tina and I have become dear friends the past five years. Not only are we both from MN but we sisters in the Lord with the same competitive spirit. Instead of coaching the girls directly, I was on board to help out Tina with the varsity team this fall. The greatest part of this arrangement was that the varsity players (most of them seniors) were all girls that I had coached my very first year when they were 7th graders. By the time tryouts were complete, I realized that I had coached nine of the ten varsity players. I knew it was going to be a fun season.
And it was...we had some incredible matches - a lot of nail-biting five game matches where we came out on top and a lot of games we could have played better than we brought to the court that night. That is where I am afraid this blog leaves me tonight. We played our final match of the 2008 season and we didn't fare as well as we hoped. The season is complete and I am left a little disheartened as I had really hoped for a better outcome. Not only because it's fun to win, but also because this group of girls is such a great group of girls. There is a humble spirit about them that is an absolute delight to watch. And I believe the league would have been blessed to see our team do well at regionals and state. Plus it was Tina's final game as the head coach. After 12 years, she is going to spend more time with her two little ones and her husband...I love you Tina. It has been a joy serving along side you. May the Lord bless you as you continue to trust and follow Him.
But the Lord had other plans in mind...tonight was not about a victory for our team, but hopefully a building of our character to take beyond the court. And that is why we play, so that the Lord may be lifted high and that He may draw all men unto Himself. We serve an incredible God!
I'm not sure what these blog entries are for...I believe I am supposed to journal what the Lord is doing in my life. This is a changing of seasons...the fall is here and I don't want to miss a moment of the Lord's greatness. I live in a state where it truly is hard to deny that a mighty and powerful God created these majestic purple mountain majesties I get to see everyday.
I hope these blogs are a blessing to you and I also hope you enjoy the pictures of God's incredible artistry from Mt Evans. It was a breathtaking drive a few weeks ago - one a camera cannot capture. God - you are so good!
No comments:
Post a Comment