He Will Handle It

I was looking at a few pictures on facebook yesterday and Ayden Jane saw a picture of a friend playing soccer. Of course, she wanted to know why L was playing and she wasn't... I answered honestly that L is very good and played on a team that traveled and trained year round and that she was far out of town playing. Of course, Ayden Jane wanted to know how she could get in on that fun.

There is a side of Ayden Jane that is quite clueless. It is absolutely a blessing that she is this way. I mean, if you saw Ayden Jane play soccer you would realize that the hopes of playing club/travel level soccer seems totally impossible. At least that was my gut reaction! She recalls her last season as a time of victory and goal scoring... Truth is she had trouble even getting a foot on the ball.

Then I started to think about it all. I did not accept the "she will nevers" from the medical folks at Ayden Jane's diagnosis. And yet, I tend to look at her limitations and have a lot of "she will nevers" jump in my brain all on their own. I have been proven so wrong by her many times as I thought she couldn't or wouldn't ____, but of course she did. Will I ever learn?

So why do I do this? I think I honestly just want to protect her just like we want to protect all our kids. I have that darn diagnosis in the back of my head no matter how hard I try to shake it. I have heard all about how it is harder for her to build lean muscle. I know that her processing speed is a step slower. I know how uphill the battle would be to keep up with gifted athletes. I know that it is a competitive world and that as such it is not all warm and fuzzy. 

For now I have put the soccer thing on hold as I told her to play on that team she would have to give up swim team and horses. I told her if she plays with the soccer team she did in the fall then she can do it all. Thankfully she is not interested in giving up anything else. She wants to do it all.  

I don't know if she will ever be a good soccer player or even just a decent enough one to make the team she wants to play on one day. I do know that if it is at all possible for determination and hard work to make it happen then it will indeed happen.

I also know that the spirit of never fearing failure (in fact, not even knowing failure is a possibility) and always being willing to work twice as hard if that's what it takes is one we all could use a dose of. Competitive sports are years away and hopefully, if Ayden Jane still has a heart to give them a try, we will find a way to make it happen. I need to trust God though, that if she wants to be a part of it and is simply not able to will herself to be good enough, He will handle it.