Boys and Basketball



It is March, after all!  And what a March it is for these three... and their mom... and their dad... and their favorite team.

They love basketball; they love the gym; they love tip off; they love the bus; they love the players, but more than any of that, they love their dad.  And their dad is a high school basketball coach whose team just won the 8th Regional tournament and will be headed this week to the University of Kentucky's Rupp Arena to play in the high school state tournament - the sweet 16!  You cannot live in the state of Kentucky and not, at the very least, realize the significance of the game of basketball.

Why do these precious grandboys of ours so love the game?  They are six, almost five and almost three years old - what is the big draw??  Now as I said, rarely will you find even a young child who lives in Kentucky who doesn't cheer for a team - based on parents, grandparents, friends, neighbors... someone has indoctrinated them in the following of one team or the other.  These boys are no exception - their parents, their great grandparents, their aunt and uncle... and many more are fans of the University of Kentucky Wildcats, and so are they.

Their love for this high school team is much different, and I so absolutely know the WHY - they love their dad - the coach.  He loves the game, he loves the gym, he loves tip off, he loves the bus (well, its okay!), and he loves the players!  Chris has included the boys in his love in every possible way.  He talks with them about plays; he watches film of other teams with them; he reads about basketball players and teams with them; he allows them to actually be in the gym, in practices, and often even on the bench with the team.  Bottom line: These boysmwant to be with him, and they want to be like him!

Occasionally on a game night, one or two of the boys will be especially tired, so the offer to come and stay with Pop Pop and Mimi will come.  The answer is always the same: no I need to be at the game - to see my dad!

Out of the mouths of babes, they say.  Taking cue from these "gym rats", I realize my Father - my Heavenly Father, has the same desires for me.  He loves me; He loves his creation of this world, He loves the details of my life... and yours.  My hope is that my desire is just that: to be with Him and to be like Him - more and more!

One of my favorite verses is from Zephaniah 3:17
The Lord your God is with you,
  He will take great delight in you;
    in his love he will no longer rebuke you,
    but will rejoice over you with singing.”

Chris does take delight in his boys... I have heard him sing... and I'm not sure it would be categorized as rejoicing!   What I know Chris does intentionally is realize that his delight is in the Lord.  More than teaching his own boys and those that he coaches in practice and on the court about basketball, he teaches them the love of Jesus.  His greatest desire is that anyone he comes in contact with knows of his love for the Lord. 

So... the Lord is taking great delight in you... this moment, this day, in this season of life...  He is with you, and HE is rejoicing over you!  Now that's worth cheering about!