Seth Scores His First Goal...

It was a moment I'll never forget. I'm standing on the field coaching our team of 5-year olds. It is a cold, spring day. Seth is playing in his second season and enjoying himself and doing much better on the field than last fall. He's playing more aggressive. I'm trying to coach everyone, but am much more interested in Seth getting his first goal. He came close several times, and I knew that he really wanted to experience scoring. I'm praying, "God just let that ball get through that cluster of little legs and let Seth have a chance to put it in." It happened! The ball came right to him and Seth gave a little kick, and there was his first goal! It wasn't a glamor goal...but it counted and he was so excited. I was so thankful to God for giving him the opportunity!

We had a good time connecting with other families as well. A fun morning!
One final thought that encouraged me as I thought back over the weekend. After our gathering Sunday, Trish and I were quite discouraged. Besides our family of 5, our most faithful teammates (Gary and Mesarat) were the only people there. It is easy to get frustrated with God and people and feel that our aggressive outreach efforts seem to be fruitless. We were genuinely disappointed at Sunday's turn out. If I'm not careful, I start to question whether God is for us and why He (seemingly) doesn't answer our prayers for growth.

But, God gave me another picture. God isn't against us. He may not be answering our prayers in the time or way we want or expect...but He is for us. He might even be looking down on His children in our church planting efforts like I was watching Seth on the soccer field. I wanted so badly for Seth to experience something good...what I thought was best for him. I don't know why God isn't working in certain ways, but I do know that He watches us and roots for us as a loving parent. He wants and knows what is best for us. I have to trust His plan is perfect.