True Character

The signature line of my email reads: True character is when, long after the emotion of the moment, you still have the dedication to the deed.

Today, I saw this trait manifest first-hand, by my 13-year old son.

A few years ago, when Jared & Micah were just starting to get very active in organized sports, we had a great family discussion about playing sports on Sunday. We discussed the purpose and commandments associated with the Sabbath, and the boys wholeheartedly agreed that it was important to observe the Sabbath as the Lord's day. This included many things that we were already doing - spending the day as a family, going to church, using it as a day of rest, avoiding shopping & dining out, etc. And they willingly added "no sports" to their commitment to keeping the Sabbath a holy day.

I've already mentioned the recent decision that Micah had regarding sports on Sundays. Well, today it was Jared's turn.

I won't go into detail. Basically, this morning (Sunday), he was faced with a decision to continue with his Sabbath commitment and tell his coach/team that he wasn't going to play in the final games of their tournament, or "save face" in front of his team and play the game. Two of the players had been injured in a previous game, so I told him that if he felt that the team needed him to play, I would support his decision.

He showed up at the game in full uniform, just in case he was needed to play. It turned out that the injured boys were well enough to play. So then the decision was fully on Jared. Would he tell his coach & all his peers that, even though he was there & in uniform, he wasn't going to play? Or would he take the easier way out and just play the game so that he didn't look "different?"

I sat in the car as my 13-year old son quietly bowed his head and prayed for guidance. I fully understand the power of peer pressure, so I was completely empathetic to his situation. If I were in his shoes as a 13-year old, I know what my decision would have been. But when he finished his prayer, he told me that he was going to tell his coach that, since they had enough players, he wasn't going to play that day.

My heart ached as I watched him walk away. But I was so dang proud of him.

Thankfully, he has an AMAZING coach. He fully agreed with Jared's decision and made him feel good about it. Jared said that Ian (his coach) even tried cracking a few jokes, to show him that all was fine between them. I am so thankful for Ian!

I know that this isn't the end of difficult decisions for Jared or any of my kids. But I saw him grow so much today in character and maturity. Jared is a great soccer player and I love watching him play. But he is becoming an even greater young man, and that is even more fun to watch!