All Day I Dream About Soccer

Friday night. I was sitting there in my room, pacing back and forth, wondering what the next day was going to hold. I had done my best, but I had also dropped the ball in many places as well. The tournament was the following day, and I was supposed to get referees for the games. I had gotten only one confirmation and that person couldn't even be there all day. I had talked to the person in charge of referees in Kelso, but all she could do was call people and let them know what was happening.

So there things stood. What do I do. I knew I wouldn't have enough people to do all the games. I thought I should pray about it, but I felt guilty, because as I said, I had dropped the ball pretty badly. Why would God listen to me when I hadn't done all I could? How could I not do my job, and then expect God to do it for me? I decided that confession was the best place to start. It usually is. I hadn't done my job, and I could possibly let a lot of people down because of that. There, that was a start. It had taken plenty of pacing and worrying, but I'd started somewhere.

Then, came the real hard part. I could admit my fault, but could I ask God to provide in the midst of that? Could I let go of the day, and let Him work things out? Then the thought came to mind, Is it really about me? I must say, that stung. Sometimes I get so wrapped up in my imagined importance, that I don't see how small I really am compared to the whole situation. God didn't need me to make the day a success. He could do it just fine on His own. He had extended to me the privilege of helping to bless a group of His children. I just didn't see it that way, so I didn't receive all the blessings that were available to me. I think that is the most disappointing part, but also the most relieving. God didn't 'hate' me because I messed up. I could still pray to Him, and place my trust in His unconditional love. It's interesting that He still puts His arm around us and leads us through a problem, even when that problem is brought on by our own actions. Hmmm...

So I gave it to Him. The whole day. Whatever came my way, I was going to trust that it was part of His plan, and that I could still lean on Him for help (funny, shouldn't I be doing that every day?). I don't know where that night is going to take me, but I'm pretty sure something has to change. A renewing needs to take place. I need to see that God extends His hand to bless me in these situations, and I need to accept these responsibilities with that attitude.

So...

Everything started out just fine on Saturday. Though I didn't have enough referees, there were plenty of volunteers who were willing to help out in that regard. I'm praising God for that, since I went in expecting to have none at all, and having a very stressfull day. But God provided, and the day went smoothly! Actually, He provided in some neat ways. First, one of the coaches of the teams that was there I knew pretty well, and I knew he was a ref. When he showed up, that was great. The most unexpected thing happened when I was reffing the deaf team from Vancouver (to read that story, scroll down through the pictures).



































































The smiling faces you see are from Tacoma Metro Parks. They're old timers. I've been doing their games for the past ten years! The girl on the ground, and the red-head behind her work at a Safeway just up the street from where I used to work. I keep comeing back for the familiar faces.

This one girl from another team remembered that I had given her a coin last year, and came up to me and asked if she could have another one. I didn't even remember doing that! I didn't have a coin to give here at the time, so I told her to talk to me at Fort Lewis in June. Now I have to find a nice coin for her to have. :)

Another face I enjoy seeing is a coach that just started a couple of years ago. She had a pretty rough start. One of my refs was trying to get her players to start the game right, and she didn't really like the way he was going about it, so she came up to me and told me about it. Then, she saw me at the big state tournament, and three time came to ask me questions about some confusing calls. By the end of the weekend, she was sure I didn't like her at all. On the contrary. She asked questions instead of jumping to conclusions, and we had some frank, but pleasant conversations. Now she's another person I look forward to seeing every year. I'm glad she stuck with it after what seemed like a discouraging start!


















The team in black is the team from Vancouver School of the Deaf. That's me in red. I had been doing their games for years. They new me, and I new them, or so I thought. As I was doing their first game of the day (and mine), I looked to the sideline, and saw Debbie, the wife of my high school soccer coach, and a certified referee! Mind you, I went to school in Tacoma, and that's where they live to this day. Apparently, her nephew plays for the Vancouver team! All these years, and I never knew that her sister has lots of pictures of me reffing their games!






































So that was my weekend. Hope all of yours were just as blessed as mine!