Hope Deferred

"HOPE DEFERRED MAKES THE HEART SICK"

Several weeks ago I wrote a blog post about losing. I had to go back and re-read it today. If you're interested, here it is: Comfort Us So We Can Comfort Others

Last night was a crushing blow to our 15-year-old son. He was hit this semester with some physical troubles that affected his swim season, both for USA and UIL. Sadly, he developed an ear infection that left fluid behind his eardrum. This resulted in some serious damage to his eardrum and partial hearing loss. It meant he had to miss some important swim meets.

Thankfully, his treatments worked and he was able to swim again. In fact, his only setback in UIL was that he was at risk for not advancing to the Varsity team. But at the JV District meet, he swam so well that he broke a team record. And he advanced to Varsity. He has been swimming on the Varsity team, but his high school isn't like a lot of other high schools. And for the boys, the competition is twice as difficult as it is for the girls.

So, he has had to push himself through sickness and his dad and I have watched him work til he is too tired to eat. He has literally fallen asleep on his dinner plate. He leaves the house at 5:00 in the morning for swim practice, goes to school all day (he's in advanced, difficult classes), goes back to swim practice, returns at 6:00 p.m. (13 hours after he left the house), works on homework, gets very little sleep, and then back to the lunacy of his schedule.

Last night was his final chance to qualify for the Varsity District Meet. And because of his ranking, he had a shot. He swam his heart out only for the coach to tell him, "you missed it by 0.1 seconds". POINT ONE! That's right. Swimming is cut throat. This is a matter of reaching out and touching the wall with a fingertip slower than someone else. A fingertip!

Dylan works harder than anyone in our family. And he never complains. I have never once in all 15 of his years heard that boy complain about anything or feel sorry for himself. My first reaction (keeping it real here) was "Ah, shit man. That sucks".

Then we drove silently home and when I pulled into the garage I said, "Win or lose, you thank God. When you win, you thank God and celebrate and when you lose, you thank God for the body to swim and then you go to bed and get up the next day and move forward."

When you are hopeful and you lose, you gotta thank God. God gives and God takes away. We will bless His name.

For Dylan, Bill & I wonder if he will ever know how truly proud of him we are. We have watched him win many swim meets and we have watched him miss a goal by a fingertip. It's a testament to his character that he never complains or feels sorry for himself. May he always be humble when he wins and may he always be a good sport when he doesn't win.

We love you Dylan!