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As I watched my younger son sit on the bench, I thought about you.

He sat, he smiled , he cheered his team on….but beneath his happy exterior, I knew he was discouraged and dying to get onto the court.

My son, Caleb, is a gifted  basketball player. (Okay, so maybe I’m a little  biased and maybe the hoop in the picture was lowered just a little for dramatic effect). But he does have skill and has been dribbling a ball since he could walk.

But I trusted his coach’s judgement and more importantly, I trusted his heart towards my son.

For over the years, this coach has proven to be one of Caleb’s biggest fans. As much as he wanted to put Caleb in the game, it wouldn’t be wise. His opponents were older, stronger and over a foot taller.

As I watched Caleb just sitting there on that bench, I thought about times where I and those I love, have sat on a different kind of bench. Life’s bench. We sit, we wait, we smile, we cheer.

We throw showers, attend weddings, send our congratulations on the new house, new job or newly fulfilled dream.

We sit on that bench and wait for “it” to happen for us like “it” has happened for them.

Can I encourage you as I encourage myself?

Even more than I trust my son’s wonderful coach…I trust my faithful God. I trust His time and I trust His ways (even when both do not make sense).

So while you sit on that bench, give your teammate a high five as they score. Let’s do as Romans 12:15 instructs us, “Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn.”

After the game, I reminded my son, “Sometimes you learn lessons on the bench that you just can’t learn on the court.”

It took a few hours for those words to settle in, but before going to bed, he told me he agreed. The bench taught him what the court could not.

On the court, we sharpen our skills. On the bench, we sharpen our character.

-Binu

by binu

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