The end of another YFCHL season
How crazy it is that we are six years into this ministry! It seems like just yesterday I was meeting some of our graduates for the first time as little junior high kids. Reflecting gives us a lot to be thankful for. I’m still amazed at how simple it can be to get kids to come out. You say the word hockey, and 50 kids will be there. We just hope and pray that the things we’ve done to serve these kids are impacting and changing lives. We know that God uses our every action to work His goodness, but time will only tell exactly where those changes have really taken place. We are not discouraged, but sometimes you wonder how different life would be for these kids if we had not come around. I’ll say it for the millionth time, just knowing these kids makes my job incredibly rewarding. I love these relationships and the kids that come with them. They are a huge blessing to me.
Lots to reflect upon as our season has drawn to a close. It was just as intense as we thought it would be. Playoffs were a huge toss up, with three game 7 showdowns (one which went to overtime) and a couple new championship franchises. The parody of the league this year was really awesome. There were a couple teams that had a bit of a rough go in parts of the season, but come playoffs, it really was anyone’s game.
A personal highlight for me was watching my team grow this year. A rag-tag group of youngsters, we lost the first 12 or so games. We were getting blown out and the boys were pretty down, but then eventually we managed to squeeze out a win. It didn’t look good at first, but eventually they pulled together as a team and could compete well with everyone else. Come playoffs, they were ready to go and knocked off the first place team! Definite proud moment. It was amazing to watch these guys grow through adversity. Choosing to work together, never give up, and encourage each other, despite the circumstances! Hopefully the guys learned some life lessons in the midst of that too. Sometimes you need to persevere through what sucks. If it does get better, the victory is that much sweeter.
