Thursday, September 20, 2007

Love of the Game & the Girls

VOLLEYBALL. I love it! I got to play last night for the first time in 9 months and it was wonderful! Volleyball has always been enjoyable and relaxing to me. And the women on the team that I am playing with have been the best friends I could ask for. I'm glad to be able to start another season with them as I start another season in my life.

When Seth and I moved here 3 years ago I knew no one. We stared attending the church where Seth is now the children’s pastor. One of the first weeks that we attended, there was an announcement in the bulletin saying that some women from the church were starting a volleyball team and they were looking for more players. Well if you mention volleyball, I will come running, so I hooked up with the head pastors’ wife, who was in charge of the team, and I was once again part of a team.

When I joined the team I didn’t expect much. It was group of women that I didn’t know that I would play ball with once a week. What I did know was that most of them had never played before, I was a little nervous about this. See I’ve played at the college level and am very competitive, not a good combination when you’re playing with people who have never played before. I was hoping to make a few friends and to enjoy the game I love despite the lack of experience on the team. I was interested to see how hard both of these tasks might turn out to be.

Well, my volleyball girls have become so much more than just some women that I play ball with once a week. They have become some of my best friends. They have walked with me through some of the best times in my life and some of the worst times in my life. As I struggled through my first bed rest and a miscarriage, the joy of another pregnancy but the disappointment of another high risk pregnancy and more bed rest. The joy of the birth of my son but the scare of a premature birth. Then the death of my son. Through all this they encouraged, prayed, called, and were just there when I needed them. Then one more pregnancy and one more bed rest but no problems with this one and the joy of getting to hold my full term daughter. My volleyball girls have been there through all of this and everything in-between. Among all the babies and bed rest, volleyball and the girls I play with have been a safe haven for me. They have saved my spot on the team every time I had to leave and welcomed be back on the court with open arms; I’m so grateful. These women have been soooooooo much more than just a few girls I play ball with. I never would have guessed what treasures I would find as I joined the team 3 years ago. I thank God that he used my love for the game to bring me lifelong friends.

In case you were wondering despite the lack of experiance we had at the beginning we are actually pretty good and have gotten a TON better. It's been fun to see and be a part of the progress.

To all my volleyballers out there thank you so much for EVERYTHING! You'll never know how much you mean to me. I love you girls!

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Tarah, you make me cry...you gotta stop doing that!! Love you too girl and all the volleyball girls.
Katie

Anonymous said...

The feelings are completely mutual! It's been a priviledge to be part of all that's happened in your life not to mention being able to play volleyball together! In the words of Dick D., you are a blessing!!!
Jen