March Madness And Moms On The Court

I enjoy watching college basketball.  The athletes are in it, not as pro's for million dollar salaries, but for the love of the game.  And I delight in the surprises of little-known schools coming quite suddenly out of nowhere to clinch a game or two.  It is indeed March Madness. We groan with missed shots.  We rejoice with the underdogs. We come to our feet for those three-pointers in the last seconds of the game.  The stands are jammed with enthusiastic fans, cheering on their teams.

But not once have I seen a mom on the court.

As excited as they are, the moms are scattered throughout the stadium in assigned seats where they can cheer enthusiastically for their grown sons as much as they want.  The Coach designs the plays.  The players gather around the Coach.  If you are going to play full court sanctioned basketball, no moms are allowed, except in the stands.  If you want to win the game, listen to the Coach.  He knows what he is doing.

God grants us, as moms, a season to teach and to train and to live our faith out before our children. But we are also working ourselves out of a job by pointing them to the Coach.  Help them learn to listen to the LORD.  

If God is going to work full court in our grown children, I cannot stand in the middle, trying to manipulate the plays and dictating exactly how to shoot and where to move.  I will always be a mom, but I have a new position that requires my full-time attention -- cheering and praying  --not standing on the court, blocking what God is doing.  Let God be their Coach.  Let God be their hero.  Let Him play full court in their lives.  He redeems in ways I cannot know.

Let me be the mom who is always cheering and praying.

And let God be God.


Now to Him
who by the power at work within us
is able to do far more abundantly
than all that we ask or think...

                        Ephesians 3.20