We had our end of the year basketball party several weeks before the 2018-2019 school year concluded last Friday. Once again, we met at the home of Deb Watson, who is our assistant coach. She planned a wonderful time for our eight young ladies including a gift bag and an Easter egg hunt! Her husband grilled amazing hamburgers and chicken for the girls and it was topped off with Ghirardelli Brownies and Blue Bell Ice Cream! After the young ladies had eaten their fill, we sat down on their backyard trampoline and got serious. Deb and I spoke for several minute about each player and what they meant to us. Rarely do people get to hear themselves spoken of in glowing terms in front of an audience and we wanted to make it special which it was. That was easy- the definition of this team was special.
Upon the conclusion of our testimonies, it was time to present our awards. We give only two and the girls do the voting. I only vote in case of a tie and usually not even then. Our MOST IMPROVED award had co-recipients, sixth grader Makayla and eighth grader Lexi and both were excellent choices. Then came what I believe to be the highest honor a girl on our team can be given, the BEST TEAMMATE award. It goes to the young lady who the Lady Wildcats believe always puts the others before herself. And the honoree was........ Faith. That came as no surprise. She also was selected as both a sixth grader, which is almost unheard of, and last year as a seventh grader. I had decided that if she received the plaque again as an eighth grader, it would henceforth be named after her. Third times the charm, right? So from now on, it will be known as the FAITH BEST TEAMMATE award. It's only fitting.
Soon after our basketball party, my 8th grade Bible classes memorized Philippians 4:8 which reads as follows:
Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.
As an assignment, I had the youngsters write about the words of Paul with this in mind: Describe a person who fits the characteristics of Philippians 4:8. If you like, you may speak about about a particular person and tell why they fit the description.
When Faith answered her discussion question, she chose to write about her friend, Simcha, who goes to another school. Faith went down the list of attributes Paul highlights and explained how Simcha was the epitome of each trait. As you might guess, Faith, who had a 100 average on her exams, made a perfect score on that part of the test. What I really found fascinating, though, was the reaction of Faith's classmates. Four of them wrote about Faith, meaning they believe that she constantly thinks about things that are true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent, and praiseworthy. They're right. I've known her since she was in second grade and I've never heard her speak one bad word about any other person- not one. That's why everyone loves her and wants to be her friend and teammate. And that's why our award will bear her name from now on. People who put the welfare of others ahead of themselves will be loved and valued and respected. Faith will be remembered by the award named after her because she lives up to the name her parents gave her at birth fourteen years ago. Faith begat Faith.
Applicable quote of the day:
Ask not what your teammates can do for you. Ask what you can do for your teammates.
Magic Johnson
God bless,
Steve
Luke 18:1
www.hawleybooks.com
E-mail me at shawley@westburychristian.org
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