Rainy Days/losing Stinks
I coach for a 7th Grade Basketball team and we experienced two losses today that I'm having a difficulty getting over. I'm not sure if losing hurts because I'm not used to it, or if its a part of humanity and DNA but I feel it nonetheless. I hate seeing the look on the faces of my players and their parents and then I feel responsible to figure out how to get us out of the losing pit. But what if losing was all I experienced in life?
There are kids who grow up and all they have felt their entire is life is the steady drip of losing rain. One thing after another has hit them in the head, like rain drops without the protection of an umbrella. The pain of poverty, dysfunctional family situations, the destructive voices of negativity, physical disabilities and failure to measure up to their peer group's skills can all add up to a steady rain on their head. Some kids accept only rainy days in their life and lose their desire to ever win. This is why the voices of positive mentors are needed to consistently shine through the clouds and begin to impart hope into rain soaked lives.
One of my favorite movies is Antwone Fisher (2002), starring Denzel Washington who plays the role of a military therapist. Washington's character comes alongside a frustrated midshipman, Antwone Fisher, who had experienced pain throughout his entire life. It took Washington's patience and listening to unlock the pain and help Fisher begin to have hope for his future. Its a great movie, one I've used in youth worker classes for years. When asked how he feels about his life, Fisher replied "rainy days, always rainy days", his way of describing the many experiences of his life contributing to his emotional worldview. I think our job is to help students move through and out of rainy days.
My day was bad, but we live in world where people feel negative about their entire lives. Jesus came to "seek and save that which is lost". May we get our umbrellas out and jump into student's lives! No kid should live in the rain....
