Life Lessons

Yesterday, we accompanied our daughter and her team to Nanaimo, to watch her play in what was to be her last round robin of high school volleyball. The team was playing for a wild card spot in the BC Provincials being held next week. If as a parent, my yelling and cheering, my wishing, and hoping for a win could have paid off, they would have won. In the end it was not to be. Our team won the first game and lost the second. Another team is now headed to the Provincials instead. It was heartbreaking.

Yesterday I reconnected with a life lesson. So many of our interactions with each other have to do with sitting on the sidelines, cheering for each other, and not being able to do anything about the outcome of the situation we are watching.

Perhaps, this is what Paul was talking about in Galatians 6: [Verse 2] Carry each other's burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ. [and in 5] For each one should carry his own load.

If I could have, I would have stepped onto the court and blasted that ball back at the other team when they smashed it onto the court. If possible, I would have got up there and served the ball to their back corner so they couldn't return it. But I was not called to be in that position. My job was to sit and cheer, and hoot and holler, and give the team [and my daughter] my 100% support.

This is a conundrum for this rescuer-at -heart. I had to keep reminding myself that this was her journey, not mine. Even though I know that, it took everything inside of me to hang onto that fact. I kept repeating "it's not your deal"to myself as I stood by and watched the tears flow. I guess there's a fine line between carrying each other's burdens (showing up in each other's lives) and carrying your own load (each person's journey is their own).

As her mom, I wanted so much for her team to win. When it didn't happen, I wanted to take the pain away for her. Clearly that was impossible. My job was to stand by, give hugs and buy the Tim Horton's BLT combo. She still has to do the work of moving on from this loss, and learning from the life lessons handed to her on the court.