Saturdays are for Soccer

For the last 5 years, Saturdays have been all about soccer for our family.  Isabel and Phoebe were the first to start and we fell in love with the sport.  Now, all four kids play and I coach the girls' team.  Isabel and Phoebe are both very strong players.  They work hard and give it their all.  Tessa and Liam are both clearly following in their footsteps (Tessa scored a very sweet goal this morning!).

Since the onset of symptoms for Isabel, she's had to work a little bit harder.  Not just physically, but mentally.  I can watch her mentally preparing for the game.  Not in the way most kids do, but something different.  She knows that at the end of the game, she will have pain- in her feet, in her hips, in her shoulders, and in her fingers.  At the start of the game, she is mentally preparing herself to play through that pain.  We all see it.  It's a change in her from previous years.  She is praying silent prayers for courage and strength.   But, once she is on the field, for that short hour, the prayers are answered and she manages to leave the arthritis behind. 

Our sports league is a Christian League so we pray before games and do devotions at practices.  Our team also does something we call "highs and lows."  The low is something that was a challenge for you during the week, the high is how God is helping to make it better.  Often, Isabel's low was the undiagnosed pain and waiting for a diagnosis.  Once we had one, her low at practice was that she had arthritis.  Most of the girls on our team have known Isabel for 4 years so they all took the news hard.  You could tell they were wondering how this would change Isabel and our team.  Isabel is usually the one to rally the team and offer leadership.  It's hard to imagine our team without her.  I reassured the team and Isabel that arthritis doesn't end a soccer career, it just changes it.  More stretches, taping her ankles for games, etc.  The team has been nothing but supportive. 

In fact, we have decided to play for a cure.  Each goal they scored means a $1 donation to the arthritis foundation.  One family donated an extra $20 to the cause.  We've done similar collections in past seasons for very charitable causes, but the girls are really getting behind this one because this time, it is personal.  They have a face for the cause, Isabel.  Our last game of the season is next week so we'll see how we do. 

I don't think arthritis will end Isabel's soccer playing, it will just change things.  And, with each amazing play or goal, I have a new admiration for her.  Today when she scored our 2nd goal of the game, I thought, "HA!  Take that arthritis.  You won't stop her."  And I meant it.