Second place in soccer, first place in teamwork!

One of my favorite stories to tell about Connections was how were were sponsoring soccer teams before we ever had a public worship service.

Sponsoring teams has proved me a way to bring the three most important things in my life together: Being with my kids, supporting my community, sharing our Church. (Notice that the actually playing of soccer has nothing to do my love of soccer- I actually horrible at the sport.)

We finished up another great season this past Saturday. We ended up in second place. The girls went undefeated this season until the playoffs. We lost twice, to the same team.

I would have been a little sad if not for the fact that the girls really didn't seem to care. Which was a beautiful thing. They started cheering at the end, "Second is the best!" They just loved playing and being together.

What was perhaps most exciting for me was watching Eden excel in encouraging. This was very significant. Eden is not the best player on the team. But somehow, early on, she determined to be a great supporter of the team. That is remarkable in itself, because like me, she has a HUGE desire to be the best. She cheered the others girls, talked openly about how good many of them were, and made huge gains in her own skill set.

She may not have totally caught on to the sport of soccer, but she got being part of a team at a level that I did not achieve until my 20's.

With that lesson learned and in place she is positioned to truly do some great things in the future. Second place for the season, but first place in teamwork and attitude!