Everything I need to know, I learned from racket ball

As mentioned in a previous post, I played racket ball with my parents and husband this weekend. I write blogs in my mind all the time, and this one I thought may be worth posting.

We were in Academy the other day, and I saw this wonderful pink bag that I had to have. Look at the wonderful racket detail. It's got flowers! J said he'd love to play with me, but my excuse is, I've had no stuff to play with. No more! So now that I have a cute pink bag with a cute pink racket, cute pink glasses, cute blue balls, and a cute white glove, I hit the courts. I love Academy. And here's what I thought about while in the court, dodging balls and laughing with my mom.

EVERYTHING I NEED TO KNOW, I LEARNED FROM RACKET BALL

1. Work as a Team: Although I think racket ball was meant to be an individual sport, it can be made into a team sport, even if there's only two people playing. Take turns. Share. One person doing all the hitting gets worn out really fast, and the other person is bored. You can't keep that pace up for long. But you can play much longer when you work as a team.

2. Give Other People the Benefit of the Doubt: I'm SURE my mother, the sweet lady that she is, didn't mean to smack me in the neck when she was fielding that ball from behind me. Likewise, I need to remember that other people have issues that may have nothing to do with their current actions. When people don't feel well, they don't act nicely. And we don't always know what's going on with the woman who just cut me off in traffic. So say a prayer, and wave nicely.

3. You Don't Have to Keep Score:The problem with playing some certain sports with boys is they like to keep score. Ruthlessly. My mother and I played for a hour without keeping score once. Did we have fun? Yes. Get exercise? Yes. In life, there are multiple opportunities to keep score. Don't. Thankfully, God doesn't keep score for us, and we should extend that benefit to those who are travelling this road with us.

4. Communicate: Adequate communication helps us all figure out what's going on. So two people don't go for the same target, sports players often tell their teammates what their intentions are. We should be so transparent at work and at home. Meetings go better when agendas are acknowledged to begin with. Chatting with one's spouse or friends strengthens bonds. Use your words.

4B: Encourage Each Other: Most communication, 90% of it, should be positive. You will be known by your words. Make them sweet. You can speak truth gently. Do so.

5. Use All Your Equipment: I started the racket ball game without my racketball glove on. I thought it made me look like Michael Jackson. I'm not used to sporting just one glove. But my shots were wild. All over the place. The racket was twisting in my hand when I hit the ball. I put on my glove, and viola! My shots were still wild and all over the place, but it had less to do with the racket twisting and more to do with poor technique. Why would you go through life without all your equipment? God's been there. He's been here. He knows. We are told that the Bible has everything we need for life and Godliness. For life. Why would you have this wonderful resource and not use it? Daily.

6. Be Flexible: Wow! My mom can move fast when there's a racket-ball-missile fired at her (by her daughter). We found out that both of us can contort into previously unknown and untried positions when we had to. Take that flexibility into your home. Eat pizza when the cauliflower burns to the bottom of a pot. Have breakfast at IHOP when a car accident ruins your chance at a good berry picking. Don't nix things just because we've never done it that way. Sometimes we can come up with wonderful outcomes if we just try new things.

7. Laugh: Laughter can cover alot of error. Don't be afraid to laugh at yourself. In fact, you should be the first to laugh when you did something humorous. Enjoy the laughter. It's good exercise. And enjoy a good, clean joke.

8. Drink Lots of Water: enough said

9. Say Sorry When You Hurt Someone: It's the little things that make society nice. It could be a car accident, a stray word, an angry outburst. Say you're sorry. It doesn't make you less of a person to admit fault. In fact, it makes you more. More compassionate, more full of a gentle and humble spirit, more like God.

9B: Right Wrongs. Give a hug when you nail someone with a ball. As much as you can, fix what you broke. Lamps are easy. Feelings are not.

10. Never Look Back: In racket ball, you are NOT allowed to look back. You'll shoot your eye out (said in a nasally 1970s voice a la The Chrismas Story). Or someone else will take your eye out. Not a great idea. The last time I played racket ball, my dad gave me a great lecture about Don't Turn Around, etc, etc. Um, let's just say I learn better from object lessons, and I left the court with quite a mark on my forehead. Just the size of a racketball ball. In Narnia, Lucy asked Aslan (who by the way is a stand in for God, just in case you missed that symbolism), "If I had trusted you, would the battle in the castle still have happened (that caused the deaths of many Narnian fighters)?" Aslan shook his head and said, "We will never know what may have happened. Let's just concentrate on what is." (Or something to that effect. The real movie line is better.) What's done is done. We can't undo the past. But we can trust God and allow His hand and guidance to lead our future. That is really the only way to live. With our eyes fixed on the Author and Perfector of our lives. Looking forward. Never back to the life we left, but with anticipation to what is to come, both here and beyond this world. I can't wait.

So, this is what I think about when I play racket ball. Who's up for a game?