Someone asked me the other day for some parenting wisdom. Ha! I barely know where babies come from. I’m glad that all of our kids are grown up and are responsible for making their own bad decisions. But let me tell you a quick story.
When our oldest son, now the Presbyterian pastor, was a freshman in high school he was the starting quarterback on his football team. But he almost didn’t get that experience. After not playing as a lineman on the B team through junior high he wanted to quit football. Dad made an executive decision, knowing a lot of kids drop out at this age and forced him to play. Score one for dad! The boy loved playing quarterback and so did his dad.
A year later, football practice started and the boy was playing quarterback again for the junior varsity—for about a week, that is. Coach decided another young man might be better. Take two, “Dad, I want to quit football.” No, son, we don’t quit things after we start them, hang in there. Son hates dad, dad hates that son hates him. It was not a lot of fun at the dinner table if you know what I mean.
When the season started, the boy ended up playing receiver. Turns out he likes catching touchdown passes better than throwing them. He has several games where he has multiple touchdowns. Score one for dad again. Another good decision. Lesson taught and learned. Good things can come to those who wait (and don’t quit football).
After that sophomore season Mr. Touchdown has a few dollars and an interest in music so he buys a bass guitar at the pawn shop during a duck hunting trip.
Junior year rolls around, football practice is about to start, and I hear the, “Dad, I don’t want to play football,” story for the third time. Not only that, “but dad, I don’t want to do anything but play my bass and tennis.” This kid played every sport: Football, basketball, ran cross country, ran track, played tennis and baseball. He did everything but play golf. The Blonde and I, with three kids in the Volvo station wagon, chased this kid all over the state and now we are going to go cold turkey on the sports train? Dad decides it was time for the boy to make a decision on his own, see where it went, even if it killed his dad (which it didn’t, but it felt like death).
Here’s my parental wisdom. Sooner or later every athlete has to hang up his cleats. Dads have to stop living vicariously through their children’s athletic careers. Very few of our kids will be professional athletes, in fact they are more likely to grow up, become Presbyterians, go to seminary and become a preacher, yikes! Parents, work more on the spiritual side of things; they last into eternity. This kid grew up to love Jesus and as we practiced Proverbs 22:6, (“Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.”) God blessed our efforts and guess what? He might bless you too.
He told me to tell you that.
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