Life is like coaching soccer? What?

God reveals truth to me in all sorts of ways. Today, it was losing our most important soccer game of the season. Not just losing, but getting totally destroyed and having to watch it all from the sidelines. My team has come a long way. They came from being really bad to nearly decent. Ok, so maybe we haven't come a long way, but we are heading in the right direction. I'm starting to discover some of the frustrations of coaching or just leadership in general. One frustration is giving your team all the right instruction and practicing all the right techniques that are necessary to play as a team and be successful. We practice over and over again. We review over and over again. I ask them what they need to do, and they repeat it right back to me. Up until game time, it seems like I have elite soccer machines on my hands. But then, it's game time! Time to put all of the practice into action. Time to see what we're really made of. Then the whistle blows, and my kids suddenly turn into a swarm of ball chasing 8 year olds. Everything they've learned seems to have been immediately repressed into the depths of forgetfulness. I used to think it was a focus problem. Maybe they just need to be reminded a lot. So I would scream and yell and tell people to "Mark up" and "Get open." It's like my words hit a brick wall and bounce back so hard that they slap me in the face. I'm usually blue in the face by halftime. At halftime, I ask them what they need to do to be successful, and they say all the right things. But I look at their faces and all I see is frustration, doubt, and discouragement. After the game tonight, I was wondering how I could turn them around. There had to be some way to engrain soccer ability into their bodies and brains. I was borderline frustration too, just like them. I honestly felt like maybe there's no hope. Then I thought about God. He points us in the right direction over and over again. He says joy and life are found in obeying and seeking Him. He says there's nothing better. We say we believe it. We say it right back to Him. Then its tomorrow, and we turn into a swarm of pleasure/money/fame/etc. chasing fools. What's the problem? It's not that we didn't hear the truth. It's not that we don't at least somewhat believe it. It's not that we don't have the grace to pursue it. I think the problem is that we have no idea how wonderful the treasure of abundant life really is. I think that if we really knew how amazing life could be, we would stop missing it. We would stop chasing other pursuits b/c we would know that they pale in comparison to what God has for us. If my team only knew the joy of playing soccer well and the thrill of giving it your all and winning, I don't think they would be ok with losing anymore. They would put all of their effort into getting it again. Yes, it takes effort. It takes everything we have, but it's so worth it it. One time Peter said to Jesus, "We've left everything for you." Jesus replies, "you'll receive a hundredfold of what you've given, and inherit eternal life." Make it a goal to know the life, the joy, the peace of pursuing the kingdom and belonging to God. I think I've quoted this before, but I'm quoting it again b/c it's C.S Lewis. "Indeed, if we consider the unblushing promises of reward and the staggering nature of the rewards promised in the Gospels, it would seem that Our Lord finds our desires, not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased." So I'll never give up on my team and I'll never let them give on themselves b/c I want to see them succeed. They have the potential. I can't wait to celebrate with them when it finally all comes together. God will never give up on us either. He is waiting to celebrate with me and you.