And a child shall lead them

There is a scripture, Isaiah 11:6, that I often think of when I see my kids enjoying their lives.  The scripture says, "The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them." (KJV) This scripture came to mind yesterday when I was wishing and hoping and praying that Jay and her 6th grade basketball team might get a win out of last night's game. See, Jay tried track for the first time this past summer, she challenged herself with an advanced ballet class at the new studio she is attending, and just recently she tried basketball.  Just the fact that my daughter is willing to try something new and very different for her speaks volumes to her mother who is leery to step a single toe outside of her comfort zone. "...and a child shall lead them."

For basketball, there weren't any real try-outs: if girls wanted to play they just showed up at practice. After a couple of weeks they were broken up into different groups based on ability and 'teachability' I assume.  Jay came home and told us she was on the A team. She had never played basketball or had any interest in the sport so we were a bit surprised she was on the higher level team. That's when we chalked it up to being, maybe in part, due to 'teachability' because the girl can learn just about anything.

Over the course of the season - a mere four weeks - Babe and I would go to the middle schools in our area to watch our daughter and cheer her and the team on. It was fun, and funny, because Jay has always been a dancer and although she was amazing in track, she has never done a team sport. She had to remember her position, keep her eye on the ball, not foul, stay in bounds, focus on the red square when she was close enough to shoot, actually SHOOT when she was close enough to the basket, and to be aggressive on the court. Jay jammed her finger badly during one game, then jammed it again in practice. This was all new territory for her, but she kept trying and definitely improved in those few games the team played. I was one proud Mom sitting in those stands.

The team lost every game but the last one. I was so happy for those girls because they all worked and tried hard, they just couldn't get a win. So when they did it was like all of the time they spent learning the game paid off. And sure people always say, it doesn't matter if you win or lose, but we all know that the point of basketball is to get that ball into that hoop more times than the other team does - so yeah, winning is the goal. In the end my baby, all 5 feet 6 inches of her, went on that court every game and TRIED. She knew she wasn't some Lisa Leslie - at least not at this point - but she knew that she wanted to do something different and see how it went. Jay stepped outside of her comfort zone and unlike ballet and track, basketball didn't come easily for her, but she put her game face on, laced up her Nikes and got the job done. Win, lose, or draw, I got to see what it is to try something even if maybe you aren't amazing at it and still come out a bright shining star. I'm so proud of Jay. She inspires me to be a better me.  "...and a child shall lead them."