Finding God in the Sporting Goods Store

I find that God can remind us of His presence in the oddest places. My 7-year-old daughter plays ice hockey, and the other day I took her to get fitted for her first set of hockey equipment at Play It Again Sports. Carolyn is the only girl in her age group in the hockey program, which can be tough sometimes because none of her friends really understand her excitement about it. As I was standing in the hockey gear, looking lost (because while I can tell you all about the difference between icing and off sides, I don't really know much about what the hockey players wear under their jerseys) a female store employee came up and asked if she could help. I explained that we were there to get Carolyn fitted for hockey gear. She replied that she was just the person we were looking for because she had been playing hockey for 15 years. Carolyn was so excited to meet an older girl who plays hockey. The more we talked, the more I realized that meeting this young lady was a Divine appointment. It turns out that she gives private hockey lessons for less than what we were paying, and there's another girl in the class that she teaches. Carolyn is going to spend her summer being coached by this young lady.

This was one of those everyday moments that we, as parents, can either chalk up to "Hey, that was neat" or we can take two minutes and turn it into a reminder for our children about who God is. Carolyn and I talked about how God put that girl in that store at that moment so we could meet her. The number of things that had to line up just right for us to meet could only have happened if God had planned them. Not five minutes after we left, the girl who had helped us went to lunch. If we had been just a bit later, we would have missed her.

Now, in the grand scheme of things, meeting another girl who plays hockey may not seem like a big deal. But it is a big deal to Carolyn. In our area of the world, there just aren't that many people who play hockey, much less girls. This one encounter let me point out to Carolyn that God cares about everything in her life, even hockey. We just had a short conversation about how much God cares for us -- even about the little things.

We need to make our kids aware from a young age that God has a hand in everything. His presence probably won't be signaled with trumpets and fireworks but may be found between the hockey sticks and elbow pads. As parents we have to be aware of the moment and look for God in it. Then, we have to be intentional about pointing out God's presence to our kids. When we begin to be intentional about looking for God in the everyday, we become much more effective at sharing about God and His promises with our children.

So, as you go about your day and your week, look for God in the everyday moments of your life. You might be surprised at where you and your kids find Him.