there is something new under the sun...you just have to be looking in the right places...

"There is nothing new under the sun" is a quote from the book of Ecclesiastes. Like many other quotes isolated and lifted from a Biblical text, I don't think it can be treated as if it were a true statement. When things are right with me, I have my hope set on something new every day.

Today, was a day that I need to know that God's mercies are new every morning. That God is always creating something new. That new life is possible, new creation is possible. After a not so great week full of doctor's appointments, work, illness, rain... I was feeling discouraged and a bit lonely. In a reflective, self-examining state I headed out into an amazingly beautiful sunny Spring day. The boys had soccer games, both at the same time and different places. So, Spencer and I headed off to one soccer game, Sam and Gene to another.

Now, I'm fairly new at the "soccer mom" thing. At this age level the Madison league is not set up to be aggressive and competitive. Skill and drills are not the focus, the focus is fun. Yet, apart from being taught positions, for 7 year olds, soccer becomes a moving huddle of competitors running up and down a field trying to steal and kick a ball. (At the end of the game, although not a single goal has been recorded, these kids know the score, they know who won!) I've been thinking about this all day and I have yet to see any way that this is not going to become a contact sport.

Today, the teams were doing a bit of trash talking on the field (also discouraged). "Hey dumb-head!" is what Spencer tells me the kid said right before he pushed him down. The coach on the other team removed Spencer from the game - as it should be. Unsportsmanlike conduct should be disciplined. That, however, was not the end of it...I sat in my lawn chair, Spencer on my lap, stunned as a small group of parents formed a semi-circle in front of us and proceeded to launch their attack. A mom, that I had never met, who did not even know Spencer's name, shook her finger in my face and waved her arms around in the air to declare that it was because of "him" that their team members were crying on the sidelines. I was, while it may seem unlikely, speechless at this somewhat ironic outburst. I'm learning now that the sidelines of a soccer field may be just as dangerous of a place as on the field!

Conflict is not something I usually shy away from, but on the soccer field - well, that's different. I do know better than to enter into a battle with parents who are defending their young. I honestly am at a loss for what to do in these situations. I can't defend the actions of my child, he was wrong. Yet, I feel the need to protect him from attack that is uncalled for, by people who are unauthorized to do so. So, I said very little. I allowed Spencer to play again at his coach's request and I waited until we got to the car to talk to Spencer. I must be getting better over the years at this because I did not cry all the way home!

I pray that I did the right thing and I pray that I honored God in my response. (It would have gotten ugly I'm sure if I hadn't immediately began pleading with my Counselor to help me respond.) Nevertheless, I was in need of a "reset". On days like these, I pray for mercy. I pray for perspective, I pray that God will bring me word of His unfailing love. Then I watch. I listen for a word from Him. I open myself up for something new under the sun.

And here it is....my day was reset, refreshed by an impromptu party with the neighborhood kids. They opened a worm orphanage in our back yard. When they were done caring for all the worms, we took a trip to Culvers for ice cream. God showed His love in a new way - speaking through kids, worms and ice cream mustaches!

Bonus: While looking for a place to plant my lavender, I also discovered that the chocolate mint I planted last year too close to the pool, is back! (I closed out last season thinking that even the mint was gone forever.)