This has been a losing season

First off: My husband is STILL a Lions fan. All these long seasons of losses and embarrassing last minute chokes, but he’s still there, glued to the television set hoping that today is the day that will all change. Sorry Hon. The commercials are better than the game.

Besides that, our rambunctious teens all engaged in sports the last few months, and ALL were on the team that lost the most. One son played on a soccer team that resembled chickens trying to get tennis balls away from German shepherds. Another son was a pitcher for his baseball team. They did win one or two, but in the end the series was a collective yawn with very little action on any base. Then my oldest boy played cornerback and kick return on our high school team. We did score twice… the entire season! I sat in snow and rain and win just to watch the other teams leap, glide, and zip past our guys like birds racing caterpillars.

Oddly enough, this losing season followed a year of the boys being on the best, brightest and winning-est teams in same said fields.

So when you have had to endure the disappointments and humiliations of being the guys with the big “L” on your forehead, what can be gained? Here’s a short list of things we can glean from going through those times we can’t quite get ahead of our opponents:

1) You Learn What gives your life value. When you lose can you still walk away with your head up? It hurts, sure, but does it destroy your self-esteem? If the loss makes you feel useless, and hopeless, re-examine its importance. Are you in the game because you love it, or because your value is derived from it? Determine what is important and focus on that.

2) You Learn What your “inner man” is made of Can you shake the opponents hand and genuinely wish them “good game?” You don’t have to feel it, but can you anyway? When the heart hurts and your pride is still stinging, give the other guy a handshake. If you can’t, you need some soul vitamins to strengthen that guy inside of you. That pride needs swallowed, and now.

3) You Learn how to persevere The cold air and cruel winds beat on my sons football team, but they still played. The crowds thinned to a meager parent or two waving tattered flags, but the boys fought on. When the tide turns and you keep rowing, you are growing strong inside. There will always be a need for perseverance. Sometimes jobs are burdensome, but we have to keep plugging along. Classes at school are boring. We still must go. Dreams we dreamed seem far away, but we will never get there if we quit.

4) You Learn to rise above negativity After three or four embarrassing defeats, I told my son that being on a losing team could do more than just build inner character. “It will be your chance to shine!” Sure enough, his focus on making the next tackle his best, his positive attitude in the face of playful harassment, earned him a lot of respect and a lot of friends. In times of trouble, the ones who keep those heels dug in are the ones who stand out when others fall back.

5) You Learn to keep your emotions from controlling you We live in a world where people are encouraged to run with their emotion at the moment. This is not a successful strategy. Sometimes we have to quell anger until we find out the truth of a situation, or to control a bad temper. We could do a lot of damage with our words if we let frustrations fly.

6) There is always another Game We live moment by moment, but we don’t live FOR the moment. Tomorrow will come. The sun will shine again. There will be another opportunity to suit up, get out there, and score again.

7)There is always Hope As I type this the Lions had an interception and then scored. My husband is smiling. Someone said “Hope springs eternal.” Sometimes we hate it, but it is the reason we get up every day. There is hope for everyone, every day, no matter what game you are playing.

 How about you? Ever been stuck on a losing team, having a losing season? How did you grow and learn during that season>