There has been a lot of basketball lately! Between Ben’s and Zack’s games, three tournaments, and the JV vs Oldies game, it’s been a little crazy!
I grew up on basketball. My Dad loved to play and taught us kids all he knew. Many heated games were played on our concrete, country driveway. HORSE. 21. Or good ole 1 on 1. We used our basketball until it was completely worn out.
We attended our local church school in Little Rock. Little Rock Junior Academy had and still does, a great gym with a nice wood floor. That gym has so much sweat and even blood soaked into the walls, you can feel it. It always had a smell to it — one that smelled of home. Belonging. In the winter, the gym was cold, until we warmed it up with our sweaty play. In the summer, it was an oven. I can still feel the suffocating hot air being pulled in by the big attic fans. Growing up, we played every Thursday night. People from the church, school, and community came. It was interesting that sometimes people we didn’t even know would show up because they had heard there was great basketball there!
I learned a lot of life lessons in that gym and on that court
KEEP SHOOTING: My Dad would always say that. If I was not hitting the shot, he’d pat me on the backside, and with a twinkle in his eyes, he’d whisper, “keep shooting, it’ll start falling.” My Dad did not mean for me to be a selfish player, but to not give up. To not quit. LIFE! It hands us some tough situations! It also can be less than exciting. But I am reminded to “keep shooting.” Keep the faith! Don’t give up.
COMMUNITY: That wood-floor gym didn’t just see basketball. It saw Saturday nights of volleyball, too. Lots of fun and fellowship was had. Lasting friendships and memories were made. We are not called to go it alone. In 1Thessalonians 5:11, we are asked to encourage one another and build up one another. The Little Rock gym is now dedicated to my Dad and a plaque hanging on the wall says, “thank you for promoting and encouraging us as young people to be the best we could be.” I’m thankful for many individuals who did that regularly on that wood floor.
SERVICE: For a period of time when I was a little girl, we had one car. My Dad would drop my Mom off early in the morning at the hospital where she worked, and then take us to school. But it was before 7:00 in the morning! We’d sit in the car for a while and then my Dad would open the school and let us in. But he didn’t just leave. He’d check the bathrooms and we would clean them if needed. Daddy thought the halls were dirty? We would sweep them. Only then would we enter the gym. We pushed a dust mop over that gym a million times! And then, satisfied with the clean school, we could start shooting. I can still hear my Dad’s pocket change hitting the floor after being rattled out by his jump shots. We are not put on this earth, we are not put in our communities, to just have fun and be a taker. We also have a duty to be a giver. To serve. Another line on my Dad’s dedication plaque reads “for your labors of love on our behalf throughout the years.” Indeed, love produces service.
FAMILY: Kids don’t just raise themselves. Both my Mom and Dad were present in that gym. Potlucks, volleyball, many school programs…they were there. Supporting us. Rooting for us. Disciplining us. Just being with us. I am particularly thankful for that!
NO ONE IS PERFECT: My Dad was the best of the best! He was highly regarded by many. But sometimes on that sweat-soaked court he could be… let’s just say, less than best! Ain’t nobody perfect! But Daddy knew Who was and he sought the Perfector of his faith every day.
I am forever grateful for the foundation of a wood-floor court and the lessons I learned in a sweaty gym!