Value The Possession

The kids are involved in sports and we love following them from venue to venue and watching them do their thing. Last night we were out of town watching the high school basketball games and happened to be in a fairly tight gym where I ended up just two rows above the bench. From my seat, I had a bird’s eye view of the bench and a front-row seat to the interactions. I love watching people coach – no matter the level of play, I love to watch people motivate their players and navigate the highs and lows of a game. I think you can learn a lot about a person when you watch them both when the game is going great and then also when the going gets tough. I can’t explain it, but it always intrigues me. I never excelled in sports enough to qualify as the coaching type, but I do believe that we all coach people every single day, so I am constantly watching and learning. Last night’s game was a close game, a bit of a battle you could say. At one point the team was in the huddle during a time out and I could hear the coach talking to the players about getting the most out of each possession and he said, “value the possession”.

On the way home, I kept thinking about that statement – “value the possession”. Clearly, he was talking about the team's possession of the basketball but that statement resounded with me. How often am I truly valuing the possession? I am not talking about material possessions – your house, your cars, your jewelry, etc. (although we must value those as we worked hard to acquire them) – I am talking about your intangible possessions. Time with the people you love, memories you are making with your kids, phone conversations with the friends that you haven’t seen in a while, work relationships, etc. How often are you stopping to really value those things and how often are you speeding through your day as you rush to check off your list?

My husband has the good fortune of having lunch with his parents every Monday. Unfortunately, I haven’t shared a meal with my dad since he passed away in 2015. I pray my husband values that possession because someday he will miss it with a fierceness. I am blessed enough to spend many weekends throughout the year traveling with my daughter to watch her play volleyball. The joy pours out of her when she plays, and my years of those moments are limited - I hope I always remember to value that possession. I have been blessed with an extra, unpromised, 915 days with Nash since his accident – I hope to never let a moment slide by that I don’t value that possession. Just take a second and soak that in – VALUE THE POSSESSION!!!

Whether it’s the major moments, something as joyful as a trip to a KSU football game with my dearest family and friends, or a simple hug at the end of the day, I hope I can remember to make the most of it. We live in a chaotic world filled with more demands than most of us can meet in a day but my wish is for us to each stop and VALUE THE POSSESSION – whatever that possession is. What can you take a minute to value today? Thank you for the lesson, Coach – this mom certainly needed it!