I can’t help but just stare. I stare at it and feel excitement, joy, stress, and slightly conflicted.  I am staring at my calendar……and it is only March.

Spring helps shed the Winter blues, and it gets my family out of the house for some fresh air!! We start to become physically active again (Lord knows I need some exercise) and start to plan family vacations and celebrations. We are entering the season of busyness for the Lee family. This year seems to have gotten even crazier….

I will be learning how to be at two places at the same time. March is filled with basketball clinics, football conditioning, soccer practices, after school activities, and we will soon be adding baseball to the mix. I now know why my husband was so adamant about getting a mini van….. because we will be basically living in it through the Fall! (Yes, I said Fall…4H, VBS, church camp, sports camps, football….)

I am excited though. My oldest is trying a new sport that he has shown great interest in playing. Although, it was a little tense the last few weeks with dad accepting he wasn’t playing baseball 🙂 Our youngest can’t wait for baseball to start and is excited for his basketball clinics coming up. I find great joy in watching my children learn, try new things, and have fun.

I am stressed. My husband works two jobs, so the majority of this rests on me. I see where we are choosing to give up most of our evenings and weekends for sports and other activities and it leads me to why I am conflicted…

I ask myself, “Are we making time to practice our faith? Are we teaching by example that the Lord comes first…even before kickoff?”

I have been guilty of judging those who miss church or leave early due to sports. Who don’t have time for small groups because they have so many practices. Churches as a whole are seeing a decline in young adult/young families. Church has been replaced with….(insert current sport.) Now here I am saying…. I totally get it. I am now the parent having to choose and create room.  I want to stand up and say “If enough parents start saying no to sports on Sundays  then maybe things will change!” However, that is just not the reality.

I believe that God just wants a relationship with us. He wants us to put Him first in all things. So what does that look like for a sports parent? Maybe it looks like….

• Family devotions before or on the way to a game
• Leaving a little bit early to attend a church service in the town you are traveling to
• Hosting your own small group
• It might even mean saying no to a game

Like everything else in life, things change. Sundays are no longer set aside for church and family. So, I will leave you with these questions:

What does it look like to put God first? Do we have to sit in a pew every Sunday to make the cut?

By His grace,

Misty