Volleyball

Tonight while playing volleyball I realized you can learn a lot about yourself and others while playing. We have options. We can do a good job, know that we are going to hit the ball, not depending on anyone else. If I chose to hit it over the net every time there is a higher guarantee that our team could score a point. But, is the team really benefiting?
What if it is more beneficial for the team all around if I take a risk to pass the ball, to set someone else up for success, to work as a team. Yeah, they might not have a perfect hit, or they may even miss it. Your team could lose the point. BUT what if you take the risk, you pass the ball and they successfully score a point for your team! Together you did it.
It's like that in any team. Anyone of us at any point could chose to go it alone. But we would miss out on this beautiful thing called a team. What if you take a risk? What if you give someone else a chance to join you in what you are doing? What if they don't do it perfectly....or what if they bring something unique and creative to the table of life that you never would have had without them?
Back in the day, before I was 20 believe it or not I really couldn't play volleyball at all. I went on a vacation to NH and some of my friends invited me to play. They took a risk, I missed the ball more than I hit it, I couldn't set, i couldn't spike, i could barely hit it with one hand and sometimes serve over the net. Usually at that point I wouldn't be invited to continue to try..the team around me would jump in front of me, assume that I wouldn't get it because I never did before-so why would I now. Well, these guys chose to give me a chance-they gave me pointers. They took time and took a risk. Instead of giving up on me, they chose to see that I could do it given a the opportunity. I wouldn't call myself a pro, but I can play volleyball because I had people who believed in me, took a risk, invested in my life and showed me how to be a team player. Sometimes I probably look at volleyball through different eyes because of the way I learned...and I believe it's worth passing on to others.
How often do we do this with people? Seeing transformation in people's lives means risking with them-taking a chance that they might not do things exactly like you think it should be done, or they may make a mess...
Faith IS spelled R I S K.
God has called us to be on HIS team-He's passing the ball to us and saying "give it all you've got..."-yeah, I won't hit it right every time, but I'm so thankful to be on His team-because he's got the best in mind.
Til next time...