The Gift of Teamwork

You know what I've noticed in the past few weeks? My little family of three is becoming more united. It's an "Us (and God) against the world" sort of feeling.

I like it.

Our goal is to get to the other side of this valley in a manner that gives glory to our King. Any successful team (my favorite included) knows that to accomplish your goal, you must:

Work together. I can't be off on my own making plans without telling R. Likewise, he and I have to let CJ in on the game plan (as much as we feel she needs to know and can handle, at least). No secrets or hidden agendas.

Play your position. Each of us has a specific task. Right now, R's working as much as he can. That means we don't see him a lot. CJ and I have to accept that these extended work hours are temporary, and will ultimately prove to be a blessing when the job is gone. We've told her that her job is to: (a) realize we're cutting back wherever we can; (b) trust God to take care of us; (c) trust us to follow God's leading; and (d) PRAY. My job is to keep the home fires burning and lighten R's load in every way that I possibly can.

Endure. Believe me, this isn't a walk in the park! Do I have faith in God? Of course! Do I trust Him? Without a doubt! Do I still have down days? You betcha'. But Scripture commands us to lift your drooping hands and strengthen your weak knees, and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be put out of joint but rather be healed. (Hebrews 12:12-13, ESV) If we want to find healing, we've got to keep moving even when we don't feel like it.

Encourage your teammates. When those down days come, we find ways to motivate each other by sharing what God's revealing to us. Mercifully R and I haven't been "down" at the same time, and we've been able to remind each other of the Source of our hope.

Work hard and play hard. Since we haven't had much family time together in recent weeks, we take advantage of every opportunity to have fun together. As soon as homework and housework are done, we play a game. I make every effort to make our time away from R special, so that CJ will look back on this season as one of joy.

Achieving the goal won't be easy. Nothing of value is. But we will press on.

We're going to be a humble group. We're going to be a grounded group. We're going to be a selfless group.

We don't live in our fears, we live in our hopes.

~Pittsburgh Steelers coach Mike Tomlin