This week I was on vacation from the hospital which actually gave me the availability to help four families and six children ages ranging 1-17.  It is so rare that so many childcare needs happened and happened while I just so happened to be available.  God just continues to give affirmation that I am to invest my life and time in precious children!

One of the children that hung out with the Lucas family this week was a seven year old young man that LOVES sports.  Anything that has to do with a ball he loves it!  He and I went out to play some soccer on our kick board one evening.  Loving the goalie position he wanted me to take shots so he could practice up on his mad goalie skills.  At first I mostly kicked the ball to him.  After several times he looked at me and asked “why do you keep kicking it to me?”  So I asked “You want me to make it more of a challenge?”  He nodded yes and smiled.  So surprisingly this old gal pulled off some tricky shots.   One of the shots I just kept dribbling the ball and then fired the ball to the goal while I was still looking off in another direction.  Totally faked him out and scored.  My buddy started laughing and admitted he wasn’t paying attention.

Taking advantage of a teaching moment I explained to be a good goalie you have to always keep your eye on the ball!

Keep your eye on the ball!  As I watched my buddy dive for the hard corner ones and stretch tall to reach the high ones it made me start thinking.   I felt kind of bad watching the little guy work so hard.  Sometimes he still just missed the ball if he wasn’t watching.  I took those opportunities to take those shots for those learning moments to always focus.  As a follower of Jesus Christ I was thinking about my focus.

In life I am one of God’s goal keepers.  God is constantly sending people across my path every day that He wants me to catch and share His love with.  My mind starts to wonder and regret how many people has God sent my way that I totally missed?  How many people have I missed because I wasn’t focused on Jesus?  How many times have I focused on myself, not looked to Jesus, and missed a person He sent my way to share His love with?   Do I ask for the challenges?  Do I ask him for people that are hard to love that I have to sacrificially dive or stretch myself to show His mercy and grace to?  To be a true goal keeper for Jesus I need to keep my focus on Him.   By doing that He shoots people directly to me that He needs me to share His love with, but I have to see them and reach for them.  It is a responsibility that is humbling and such an honor.  It is my purpose for living.  My purpose is to love God and love people.

Matthew 22:36-40New International Version (NIV)

³⁶ “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?”

³⁷ Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’^{[a] 38} This is the first and greatest commandment. ³⁹ And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’^{[b] 40} All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”