“The Pursuit Is As Good As The Gift!”

A few months ago I brought Maya and Ada with me to Carson’s baseball coaching session with Russell. Russell is a God-appointed friend and gifted baseball coach; oh yeah, and Executive Director of Kids Beach Club. Russell connects with young people, and it only takes 30 to 40 minutes for Russell to get below the surface with Carson. You see, baseball is a tenuous sport requiring precision, practice, and perseverance. Along the way, a player needs to learn how to overcome failure and remember who he is…his identity. For us, it’s not self talk or self help; it’s a discipline to remember that our strength comes from God and that he is crazy about us regardless of how we perform.

Russell embodies these principles. He has quickly become a trusted friend. Make no mistake, he’s not light on Carson. He works him to a dripping sweat each batting practice workout, but Carson responds well because he knows Russell has his best in mind. Before and after a tournament, we have time with Russell – to tune up in some cases and debrief in others. This time is a refuge for Carson and a training ground for something so much bigger. He is learning what it looks like to build physical and mental muscles. It’s my job to make sure he sees how to apply this very same approach to build his spiritual muscles. This is how Father God works.

Back to Maya and Ada.  On the car ride home following one of Carson’s practices, Maya says, “Dad, I wish Ada and I had a “Russell” for volleyball.  The backstory to this is that we have tried 2 or 3 different options but haven’t found the right fit for us. I wanted a Russell for them, too!  We prayed in the car and asked Father to work in this request and to give us the wisdom to discern who to trust.

A few weeks later, as I embarked on the start of my 6th volleyball season of coaching, Father connected us to Rob and we asked if he and his high school daughters and stud volleyball players would lead a pre-season clinic for our team.  Rob and Hannah gladly accepted, and they accomplished more in that 2 hours of training than in our 6 previous seasons.  Maya and Ada also connected with Rob and Hannah, knew that they had their best in mind and gladly worked until they were in a dripping sweat too, but it goes so much deeper than volleyball. Maya and Ada’s response after that first practice…”Daddy, God brought us a “Russell!”

We are in faith building mode in the Hagan house, specifically with our 3 young people.  It is a blessing to watch God weave those people that will come alongside of us and invest in our children. It’s important to get Kingdom-minded adults who have a passion to see God’s heart manifest in our kids’ hearts. Working them until they sweat is not a bad idea either! But also, it is important to teach our kids to “ask for it” and in his timing, Father will provide those things that we need. The pursuit is as good as the gift.  Maya and Ada asked for it; they know God listens and is able!  Jesus did say that he came to the world, to you, me, and our children, that we may have life and have it to the full.  This is a “life to the full” experience.