The Sting of Rejection

My kids are pretty high up there on my priority list! Obviously first is God, 2nd is my husband and then come the children. Hence this story begins.

Haley started middle school this year! Wow, was that a shock to me. I knew it was coming and I thought I was prepared. Little did I know that the day she actually started middle school, my life would somehow change! I now became the mother of a "tweenager".

Haley and I had been preparing for school for almost a year now. We would talk about all of the changes she will face in the next few years and just inform eachother of things we thought would be relevant to middle school.

Haley came home from school one of the first few days of the year and informed us that she'd like to play volleyball. Now, this is a child that was given my "lazy bone" syndrome and she wanted to play volleyball. Good for her! Haley missed the very 1st day of tryouts due to a minor operation that she had to have done but has been faithful to volleyball ever since then. I was a little worried she wouldn't follow through with it but she is!

Now, we knew that they don't cut kids on the 6th grade team but they do put kids on either the A team or the B team. Haley was determined to be on the A team. I told Haley to keep in mind that she had never played organized volleyball and no matter what team she was picked to be on she should be grateful for the opportunity to play.

Last night Haley came home with the news. She made the B team and she felt the sting of rejection! Honestly I don't know who felt the sting of rejection harder, Haley or her mom! 8-(
She said "Mom not 1 of my friends is on the B team with me, they all made the A team!" I was saddened for Haley. I know how important her friends are to her and I know what you gain out of being involved with your friends in sports. I told Haley that it didn't matter to me what team she made. I was proud of her that she followed through with her decision to play volleyball and that she did not quit when she was informed that she made the B team.

The rejection was the hard part. The girls were told in front of everyone what team they had made and Haley was disappointed that she did not make the A team. Instead of pouting all night about it, Haley decided to turn her mourning into dancing. Haley told me that she was ok with making the B team because it meant that she'd have more playing time and be rotated more frequently.... after all, she is one of the best on the B team. She went on to tell me that her coach told her that she is one of the best on the B team and if she works really hard they might move her up to the A team.

So, while Haley is a little bummed about being a B leaguer, she knows that there is always the possibility of becoming an A. I must admit, I felt the sting of rejection along with my daughter! I was sad for her and I know what it feels like to be rejected because it happened to me all the time as a kid, by my peers. I'm so thankful that God doesn't have an A, B or C team. He doesn't count our sins against us and put us on a team that He sees fit for us. Instead He gives us one team, the #1 team where we never have to feel the sting of rejection if we give our all for Him!

Males

Thursday Bryce had a baseball game and the girls aren't very fond of sitting in the cold watching their brother play. So, many times they find playmates and play during the games. Kaetlyn has one little girlfriend that goes to most games that plays with her but this particular day Riley brought a friend with her and they wouldn't play with Kaetlyn because "she is only 4 and they are 5". Kaetlyn was very hurt by this and couldn't understand why Riley wouldn't play with her. I felt bad watching Kaetlyn try to play with those girls because every time she ran up to them they would run away from her and I knew the rejection that she was feeling from them. However, there is a little boy, Owen that loves to play with Kaetlyn and occasionally she will play with him. Today was not one of those days. Kaetlyn came running up to me and she said , "Mommy, Owen wants to play with me but I don't want to play with him!" I asked her how she felt when Riley wouldn't play with her and she said that it hurt her feelings but she did not want to play with Owen today. I told her that she should play with Owen and that it was nice of him to want to play with her and she said " I do not want to play with him mom and he will not listen to me and mom we keep AGRUINING!!" and she was dead serious. I just laughed and told her, "well baby, you'll be ARGUING with men for the rest of your life so you better get used to it now!"

Out of the mouths of babes

Today Kaetlyn came to me with a piece of paper. I asked her what it was and she said it was her "homework" from nana's Sunday school class. She said she needed to do it today and take it back to church on Sunday. Being that she can't read or write (except for her name and a few other things), I asked her if I could help her. So, we sat together and I asked her the questions that she needed to answer. (Mind you, she is 4 years old)

The first question went like this:


1) What would a person making a hard decision do to show he or she trusted only in God?

Kaetlyn's answer: Praise God every morning, Worship Him, Always give Him your joy and praises!

I was in awe. Here I sat with my preschooler who has the attention span of a typical little 4 year old, yet she knows what to do in hard times. PRAISE GOD!!! She did not reply, "pray to Him" , she replied "Praise HIM"!!!!!
I sat there so thankful and speechless for a moment. I thank God that He gives our children ears to listen to His word and they know where they can go to when they are in times of need. Im thankful that she wants to praise God and bring joy to Him! It just reminds me that our kids are never too young to teach them the gospel and instill in them the book of life and the wonderful resources that they have when they put their trust in the Lord and depend on Him. As a parent there is no greater gift that we can help our kids achieve that is worth more that eternal life!

Out of the mouth of babes and infants, you have established strength because of your foes, to still the enemy and the avenger.Psalms 8:2

You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise.Deuteronomy 6:7
Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it.Proverbs 22:6