Jake entered tournament play around the middle of June. They had a great season. During the regular season they'd only lost a game or two. We entered tournaments strong. Then came their game on a Friday night. Things went a little different than they had all season long. It just wasn't their night. Tears and disappointment loomed in the air. But, something else happened. The boys learned some pretty big life lessons. There will be disappointment in life. It's how we deal with it that matters. So, they picked themselves up and went on to finish 3rd in the tournaments. Life goes on.
High school sports leads to a whole new level of play. The intensity with which people watch is stronger. Taylor's softball team hit a groove. They were doing well. Then, some bigger schools entered the picture. Tough competition lead to some hard games and a few losses. However, there were moments where they just all worked together, played their hearts out, and won against big schools. Their determination to be better was outstanding. They earned a bye in tournament play and it gave them confidence to come out on top in their first regional game. We came up on the next game and won that one as well. They saw their chance at state within reach. Their final game before state competition was this past Monday. We knew the team would be tough. The opposing team is ranked #1 in 2A. We went into the game and had some errors right away. More than what I had seen from them almost all year long. The bottom of the 7th inning and we were behind 4-11. We needed to score 7 runs to head into an extra inning or 8 to win. It didn't seem possible, especially with 2 outs right away. And, then, something began to change. The girls were hitting like crazy. Taylor got up to bat. She was nervous. I could see it on her face. I knew she didn't want to be the last out of the game. She fouled off a couple of balls. There were a couple of balls thrown to her. And, then she nailed it. It was a beautiful hit that got her to second base. The next gal came up to hit and Taylor took off. She headed for home to try and tie the game. But, it wasn't meant to be. She got out within inches of home plate. She slammed her hand down across home plate and just started crying. Oh how my heart began to break. Tears welled up in my eyes and I just knew she was blaming herself. We didn't say much to her after she came out of the dugout, except that we were proud of her.
The next morning came. The disappointment was still there. We talked some more about the game. We talked about what Taylor would do with all her free time. More life lessons were learned. Life goes on.
That theme has been something I needed to learn. Lately, I've been in a terrible funk. I've been angry at God, questioning His timing with our adoption. That's all I have been focusing on for so long. But, life is still going on all around me. Taylor is entering her senior year. She won't be home for much longer. I want to embrace the time I have left with her here. I've been worried about her not being able to bond with our next child, but the recurring thought of "life goes on" keeps playing in my head. God's grander picture of what He is doing in our life and the life of our child is one I will not understand, but it is one that I need to trust. So, from this point forward I'm choosing to look at things differently and stop focusing on all the things I wish were different. Life goes on.
