I have played soccer all my life. I started when I was five years old. I scored my first goal when I was seven years old (from a defensive position I might add, sweeper for those of you that are soccer fans). After my eighth grade year I told my parents how badly I wanted to play on the soccer team at the High School.
My dad said I needed to get in shape, so that summer we started to run every morning. The two of us would get up and go running. It was so hard. Running has never been my strong suite but we did it. We even went to the beach for a week on vacation and Dad and I got up every morning and ran. I can remember my Dad with his headband on, and me chugging along beside him, down the road parallel to the beach. A beach I was not sitting on, or playing in the water, or making sand castles, nope it was a beach I was running next too. I could smell the salty air, and hear the crash of the waves. Man it was tough, but it was definitely the most dedicated to something I had ever been.
The week came and it was time for try outs. Each day we ran and practiced. I ran so hard and played so hard. I felt so good about it. As the week ended, it was time to see who made the team. The lists were posted in front of the school. My best friend asked me if I wanted to ride up with his family and our friends to see the postings. I of course said YES! I was riding in the back of a van. There were 5 of us riding up to see the lists. The other 4 were friends of mine. All kids I had played soccer with for many years. When we got there we all unloaded and headed up to the bulletin board. I ran up and ran my finger down the Varsity list. Nothing, then I ran my finger down the Junior Varsity list. Nothing, my name wasn’t there at all. I didn’t make the Varsity or the Junior Varsity. I was devastated. On top of that, my 4 friends all made the Varsity team as freshman. Dejected, I got back in the van and sat in the back seat holding back my tears and leaning my head against the window. I didn’t want to let on how upset I was. My friend Danny kept looking back at me, I could see in his face how sorry he was. He told the other guys to be quit a couple of times because they were celebrating and being loud about making the team.
I got dropped off at the top of my drive way. I didn’t even make it down the driveway. I sat at the top and cried. I mean, CRIED! It was so hard to want something so much and not get it. I slowly found my way down the driveway and into the house. I sat in my room and just looked at the wall for awhile. When my Dad got home, he came into my room and sat next to me. Mom had told him that I didn’t make the team. Dad looked at me and he told me how very proud he was of me. I looked up at him and among the tears that had stained my face a smile started to creep out. We just kinda sat there for a while until dinner was ready.
Have you ever had something that you wanted so bad and didn’t end up getting it? In life there are great things that happen and there are disappointments, there is happiness and there is sorrow, there is the good and there is the bad. Yep, life is hard. I wanted to play soccer so bad but God had other plans for me. You see, I ended up taking some computer courses at the community college where my mom worked. I got some college credit for some of those classes but on top of that I learned a lot about computers. To this day I use my computer knowledge in a lot of different ways. God had a different plan for me, I would of only played soccer for a short period of time in High School but I will always have the skills that I learned while taking those classes. I would of never been able to do both and still have time for my other classes. God will lead you and guide you and show you the way. It may not be what you want it to be but sometimes our life takes us in ways that we would of never thought of, and that is God leading the way. So follow the path, go after what you want, but if you don’t make it, stop, talk to God and find out what he has planned for you. You may be surprised. Oh yeah, one more thing, I went to college and got a degree in Environmental Science Natural Resource Management, and I am the Director of Youth Ministries. Thanks God! I will explain that one another time!
