Basketball and progress

My 8 year-old grandson plays park district basketball. He's had to learn patience with himself and his teammates as they develop their skills. Yet his tallness gives him some advantage. Recently he had a clear shot at the basket. As he lifted the ball over his head, the one tall kid on the other team came from behind and plucked it out of his hands.

Our boy was stunned, because in all his 6 Saturdays of playing experience, no one had been tall enough to steal the ball in this novel way. An expression of total disbelief registered his surprise before he recovered and trotted down court to defend the other basket.

Have you ever felt on the brink of accomplishing something really good, and suddenly the opportunity was snatched right out of your hands? I sure have! What helps me is to realize that the important thing is not what seems to have happened, but how we deal with it. Blame and resentment are counterproductive. In the give and take of life, as in basketball, there really isn’t time or place for negativity. Progress demands a flexibility that includes forgiveness and moves on, ready for the next rebound. God has designed us to forgive and go forward.

Mary Baker Eddy in her book, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, wrote in the chapter on Marriage, that “Patience is wisdom.” While patience isn’t a hot item in today’s Western culture, it is part of the mix with progress and forgiveness. Its value for making good decisions and for coming to constructive terms with the unexpected is timeless.