Behind the Bench

It's here...the time of year where single parenting comes into effect. My children will eat mostly Mcdonald's drive thru (including the occasional left over French fry found in the seat), concession stand nachos, and for those games at the end of the month when there is "no mo money" we will have the pbj sandwich in the car. Yep! It's football season. A season of joys, concerns, ups, downs, people who love you, and those who don't. There will be those nights your husband doesn't sleep thinking about what he could have done differently. There will be the teachers that will give an 8 oclock test on the day after a Thursday night game. And my favorite, the parents that believe their child should and will be the next Sam Bradford, Brian Urlacher, or Wes Welker.
As a parent myself, I have learned to understand the mind of "sports parent"....well at least, I have tried. I understand they only want the best for their kid. I understand they want to see their kid succeed. I understand they want their kid to be in the best possible situation. I understand all that because that is what I want for my own kids.

But I am learning that what I want isn't what I need. Or should I say, what I think I want isn't what  need. The Israelites learned this lesson the hard way and because we should learn life lessons today from those who lived it yesterday, we need to take notes from the Israelites...on what NOT to do.

At this time, the Israelites didn't have a King, but were lead by Judges. Samuel, a prophet of God, was serving as Israel's judge at the time, but was getting older.

1 Samuel 8: 4-5"Finally, all the elders of Israel met at Ramah to discuss the matter with Samuel. "Look," they told him, "you are now old, and your sons are not like you. Give us a King to judge us like all the other nations have."

 The moment we compare ourselves to other people, or the world in general, is the day our contentment dies. We are content with who God made us or content with what God gave us until we see someone else and what they have. The quickest way to forget what God has given us is to focus on what God has given them. There is a reason he made you the way he did, for HIM not the world. There is a reason God has you where you are, for HIM not the world. There is reason God gives us what we need and not what we want because we have no idea what we want. This year it is a different job. Next year it is a different house. Today it is my son to play quarterback not on the offensive line. What we want changes with the wind because the world changes with the wind. All you have to do is look at pictures of my hair over the past 20 years. You will see short, long, blonde, brown, black, straight, curly, and on and on. It's exhausting keeping up with what the world says we should have or become. The Israelites were no different....they changed gods like I changed hairstyles. They worshipped and prayed for whatever they felt they wanted and needed at that time. What if everything we did and everything we prayed for was just to know God more and his ways better? Because the Bible says, God is the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. He is the same yesterday, today, and forever. In a world that is always changing, we can find peace and stability in a God that never does.  Our prayers become seeking God, and not giving advice to God.

1 Samuel 8: 6-9 "Samuel was displeased with their request and went to the Lord for guidance. 'Do everything they say to you the Lord replied, 'for it is me they are rejecting, not you. They don't want me to be their king any longer. Ever since I brought them from Egypt they have continually abandoned me and followed  other gods. And now they are giving you the same treatment. Do as they ask, but solemnly warn them about the way a king will reign over them.'"

You see, every time we want more and more of what the world has to offer and less and less of what God has to offer we are saying to God..."you are not enough." I love you God, but I need something else to be happy. I love you God, but I need this to change to be happy. I love you God, but I am asking for more to be happy. We are rejecting God as King of our lives and have abandoned him to chase the wind. When we constantly seek this from God instead of seeking God we become restless and will never be satisfied. But the same warning God gives to the Israelites is the same warning he gives to us "about the way a king will reign over them." The  king of the world will say you are not good enough. The King of Kings says...through my son, you already are. The king of the world will say you have to do more. The King of Kings says...it is finished. The king of the world will say you have too many weaknesses. The king of Kings says..in your weaknesses I am made strong.

God is not Santa Clause to give us what we want. He's not a rabbit's foot to be our lucky charm. He's not the monopoly man to give us a "get out of jail free" card every time we make a stupid mistake. He's the creator of the universe. The maker of heaven and earth. He's the one that knows all, sees all, makes all. God want our lives....not just the list of wants. God wants us to seek Him not just what he has to offer. God wants to be our living water so that we never thirst for acceptance of this world. God wants to be our bread of life so that we never crave the things of this world over Him. God wants us to "Love the Lord our God, listen to his voice, and hold fast to him. For the Lord our God is our life." Deuteronomy 30:30
My husband always says: Coaches coach, players play, parents cheer. I would say: God leads, I follow, and others watch.

 Here's to staying Behind the Bench....