The Blame Game!

Where do I start? And before I start, I want to make one thing clear, these are my thoughts, insights, feelings, passions, etc., and you may or may not agree. The best part of this life is....that it's okay...if we differ in opinion, because my friend, it's just that, an opinion. Let's make a pact, right here and right now......let's agree that it's okay to disagree......no hard feelings....okay? Good, now that we've have that behind us, fast forward to "the blame game."

By that, I mean, blaming others for any and everything that goes wrong in our lives. The current season is baseball, and with that is unlimited opportunities to blame the umpire, coach, fellow player, parent, etc. for whatever wronged us. Hubby and I try and not let the boys by with that. Now don't get me wrong, I've been guilty at hollering at umps and coaches, but I had to swallow my foot afterwards, seeing the boys radars are tuned in to that and remind me of such. Plus, if we put ourselves in their shoes....ouch, ouch, ouch, ouch....I myself could do no better....we are human....we make mistakes. Life is hard and you are going to get blamed for things at work, home, church, or whatever you are involved in. I see so much correlation between sports and life. I guess I've been drilled all my life on, work as a team, don't blame others, accept responsibility, learn from your mistakes, don't give up, yata, yata, yata. I just want my boys to see now, that if you try your darnedest and life still slaps you in the face, pick yourself up, dust yourself off and try, try again. If you win as a team, you lose as a team. No pointing fingers! As Hubby says, "suck it up."

I'm a sore loser at best. To some extent this is a good thing. I try and tell the guys that wanting to win and having the drive to work hard at it, is a good quality. It's when you can't accept defeat, the sportsmanship way, is when it's not good. I have to pray daily to keep balance. I keep referring to devotions I read, but they seem to be just going hand in hand with my thoughts. So here's another one, "The harder you work, the harder it becomes to surrender to things like fatigue, complacency, discouragement, criticism, and all the other stuff that tries to break your stride." And we can accomplish this winning spirit, if we practice, practice, practice.

Now to wrap it all up, 'cause I could go on and on, and I'm sure you don't want that......

My prayer for our children is that of desire and discipline it takes to be a true winner. If we teach our children values through sports, win or lose, look at what we've gained.......good, hard working and honest adults. To me that's worth all the time, money, and troubles we go through. For most kids, sports are a breeding ground for life lessons, to which they can carry with them the rest of their lives. Kinda puts a different spin on things, when the kid with the broken heart over losing a tough game, comes home and begins to name the reasons why.................

"Be diligent in these matters; give yourself wholly to them, so that everyone may see your progress. Watch your life.....closely. Persevere"" 1 Timothy 4:15-16 NIV

Keep praying......and run as to get the prize!

Carrie