Landon & his Elevate basketball team played in the Reno Memorial Day tournament this past weekend. On Friday we headed up the mountain & through the snow (with seemingly everyone else & their brother). The normally 3 hour drive ended up taking us almost 6 hours but thankfully we made it safely.
In addition to the tournament Landon got to go to the driving range with his friends, enjoy team lunches & see the new Aladdin movie.
But basketball was the main event.
Landon played with such strength & wisdom. The tensions were high at this tournament which was made evident by the number of fights that broke out on the final day of play.
Despite all of that, & despite the strong desire in every athlete to get the win, Landon played with a humility that demonstrated a maturity beyond his years.
Landon & I have talked a lot this year about what it means to glorify God through sports. Worshiping God is not just something we do on Sunday at church. It's something that we do in all areas of life, including sports. When God is glorified through our lives, & through the sports we play, our attention turns away from ourselves & instead toward God. When we do that we step onto the court much less likely to brag, seek attention for ourselves or try to win the admiration of others.
We saw this behavior first hand in players who made sure their game was a one-man show. They didn't take direction from their coaches, instead they argued & contradicted every call the coach or the referees made, they didn't take into consideration any of their teammates, they made obnoxious hand gestures indicating that every shot they made was easy & when they inevitably lost (hey, you know what they say, pride comes before a fall) they were sore losers who pouted & passed blame onto everyone but themselves.
In complete contrast, Landon's faith was on display during every game. He was in every way a team player. He passed the ball, he encouraged his teammates & he pushed himself for the benefit of his team. It was apparent to me that he didn't go out on the court to glorify himself. God has truly gifted Landon with the ability to play basketball, & not only that but to play it well.
Words cannot express how proud I am of this kid. With humility, grace & a servants heart Landon scored 47 points, played through the pain of an injury & showed incredibly good sportsmanship despite the odds. He truly loves the game & it is a joy to watch him play.
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