I never thought I would be that crazy softball mama.  Yet here I am.  My husband coaches the Pink Eagles and both of my girls play.  I think we will both need blood pressure meds before the season ends.  There is an awful lot you can learn from 6u softball.

-   I can do as much children’s ministry in a dugout during a 75 minute game as I can on some Sunday mornings.  I’ve got 11 girls that need encouragement, correction, love and instruction.

-  Attention spans are short.  Not much can compete with dirt or flying bugs.

-  Kids forgive quickly.  After my Kaylie getting plowed over trying to make a tag at home, she later found that girl on the playground.  ”Mama,” she said. “This is the girl who knocked me over.  I told her she was very strong.”

-  Sometimes life isn’t fair and we hold much responsibility to model to our children how to handle that.  Sometimes bad calls are made or other teams do something sneaky.

-  In the church we talk alot about the importance of community – having people that you do life with.  Community is formed in the softball stands a whole lot faster than at church sometimes.  Why?  Lots of time invested, something in common, kids of the same age who like each other….  As believers we can learn something from that.

-  As parents, one of our greatest temptations is to expect more out of these little people than they honestly can do.  I laughed the other night as we instructed our little girl playing second base to watch and see if she can tag the runner going to second then decide if she should throw to or tag at first.  Aw, that’s an awful lot to remember when you are 5.  How often do we place unrealistic expectations on them?  One night I said to my 6 year old, “You’ve got to get every out at first if we are going to win.”  Seriously???  She’s 6.  I fear we do that more than just on the softball field.

-  The sin nature of any individual, including me, can be displayed in an instant at the softball field.  Wondering if there are still people in your community who need Jesus?  Spend a few hours at the ballpark.

-  Many times kids and grown-ups care about different things.  Parents and coaches get upset about unfair calls, batting order, stressful moments, and if their child isn’t doing as well as they think they should.  Kids care about if a bug is crawling on the field, how much they get to yell loudly, and what kind of snacks they can talk their parents out of from the concession stand.  I have a suspicion that this is true in real life (and maybe church life as well).  Do we stress over things that make no difference to the kids?

What have you learned from kids’ sports?