The Storm

I spoke in last week’s column a little about playing basketball in high school. I was part of the second generation of three to play for Dacula High School in Gwinnett County. My mom and dad played in the 1950’s, my sister and I played from 1975-81, and my niece and nephew played in the early 2000’s. My mom, sister, nephew, and I all played in the Georgia state tournament. Mom was a state champion.

I played JV ball my freshman year, and the next year I was on both the JV and varsity teams until Christmas when I played strictly varsity. That was not terribly impressive though, given our ream. During my sophomore year, we lost twenty games. We won two. Beat Jackson County twice. That was it.

We improved a lot my junior year, winning more than we lost. And then, my senior year we put it together. We won 26 and lost 3, winning the region, regular and tournament championships, and losing to the eventual state champion in the playoffs. From two wins to twenty-six. I was one of two seniors on that team. The only one to start.

I’ve often thought of how proud I was to be a part of turning a program around. Two years after I graduated, our school won the state title. We won five consecutive region titles from 1977-81. It was a lot of fun.

But do you know what? Which year do you think I learned the most? The truth is that I learned more the season we lost all those games than I did the other year. I learned what not to do. I learned about personal relationships. I learned how to deal with adversity. It wasn’t fun. I didn’t enjoy it. But I learned.

Sometimes God takes us throught the storm. He never leaves us or forsakes us. But He allows us to go thorugh the storms in order to fashion and form us into the people he wants us to be. I pray that as you go through the storms of life, you will learn to trust the One who is able to help. God is with us. We can trust Him.