God at Work . . . in Little League

This week I am starting I new feature on my blog: God at Work. My goal is to post a short piece about how I’ve seen God’s hand moving in my life or someone else’s. I’m hoping it’ll offer encouragement to others as I reflect on His goodness.

I’m going to start with a proud mom story.

Last night I had the fun of watching my son Nathan’s team win the championship game for their division. It has been amazing to watch him grow since he first started T-ball as a kindergartener. When we signed him up this year we had the choice of moving him up to the next division and keeping him where he’d been last season. While it would have felt good to send him ahead, we chose to hold off. Thankfully he didn’t mind as long as he had friends on his team! As I watched him hit almost every time he was bat, receive the game ball after one game, and finally make it to the championship with his team, I thanked God for giving us the wisdom to hold him back. Instead of being the youngest on a new team he was one of the oldest. For the first time, he was one of the stronger players, and we got to fully see and appreciate his growth.

How exciting is it to see growth—whether it’s in a skill, our careers, or in our walk with God. Usually, it takes awhile to recognize it. As with Nathan, sometimes we need to be held back for awhile in order for our strengths to fully blossom or be revealed. And when they do shine and we reap the rewards we have the pleasure of thanking the One who made it all possible.
What areas of growth have you recognized in your kids, your spouse, or yourself? Take a moment to thank God and seek His guidance for the next stage.