“Hi, Christian! Still got the boot on?” “Yeah, Opa. The doctor said a couple more weeks.” “That’s been a really bummer, fracturing your growth plate. I’m sorry.”
“Your mom says you didn’t get to go to nationals?” “CCLS (Christ Community Lutheran School) qualified for the nationals in cross-country. I would have run but this boot kept me from going.” “Were they held at Concordia University Wisconsin?” “Yeah, Opa, and I really wanted to go there and run, right by Lake Michigan.”
“Dealing with some major disappointment here, aren’t we?” “Yeah.”
“Soccer too?” “Opa, I don’t even want to be going to the games if I can’t be playing with my team.” “I betcha Aaron Rodgers of the Packers is feeling the same way, out for the season.” “Probably.”
“If God is good, and we believe He is, then there must be something good in all this.” “You think?”
“Disappointments remind us that we’re not superheroes. Remember when you were smaller, you pretended to be some superhero? We all get older and find out that we’re not, that we have limits. Physically we can’t do everything. Emotionally we can’t always get what we’d like to have. It’s part of growing up. When you believe that God is good and always present to help… And I know you’ve learned that, Christian. You hear it in church and school. You’re assured of it in Communion… Then disappointments are times of maturing in faith and trust.”
“I know, but it still hurts.” “I just hope you’ll think it through theologically, faith-wise. The Bible says a righteous person ‘is not afraid of bad news; his heart is firm, trusting the Lord’” (Psalm 112:7). Getting into that frame of mind takes as much effort as running a race. You’ll be playing basketball, right?” “Sure hope so, Opa.”