Hustle! Hustle!

For the last two months my oldest son has been participating in basketball. This wasn't where he was assigned a set team and played games every week, but rather, every week he worked on skills and learning the game. One of the motivators for the boys was that each week a boy would be chosen to be the ball boy at the high school's varsity game. For my son, this sounded like a dream. The honor was given to a boy based on his 'hustle' during the morning and was appropriately named, The Hustle Award.


Every week my son hustled his little heart out and every week his name wasn't called. Also keep in mind there were about 60 boys involved, which meant a very small number of boys were going to be chosen. 


So last week was it, the last chance to earn the Hustle award, the last chance to win. As much as I wish I could report that he is going to be the ball boy at the next varsity game, he's not.  When he and my husband walked through the door Saturday afternoon there was no need to ask the question, the answer was written all over him. My heart broke. In those moments, there really isn't much a mom can say except 'I'm sorry' and agree that it wasn't fair. 


He worked so hard. He gave his all. It wasn't enough.


We've all been there, trying our hardest, doing our best. Wanting desperately to be recognized, to know that somebody notices, that it's not all for nothing. 


Whether you're the mom folding the fifth load of laundry of the day, or the man getting up every morning to spend ten hours working a job that doesn't pay you what you're worth or the member of the team that keeps the bench warm... we all want to know that what we're doing matters.


I'm sorry to say that in much of life we probably won't get recognized for what we do. But praise the Lord, there is One, who sees it all and takes note and He has a plan to reward.


"For God is not unjust to forget your work and labor of love which you have shown toward His name..." Hebrews 6:10


You see, God doesn't forget. As His kids everything we do is for His glory, whether it's laundry, mundane office work or basketball - 


"whatever you do, do all to the glory of God." 1 Corinthians 10:31


And He sees it & will not forget it.


So when you're feeling a little down perhaps thinking that what you do doesn't matter or that no one sees, remember that the God who created the world, who set the stars in the heavens and calls them by name, the God who taught birds to sing and butterflies to fly - He notices! Wow! The God who tells bears when to hibernate and when to get up, the God who paints rainbows and waters the earth, the God who forms babies in their mother's womb and who knows what they dream, that God sees YOU and He's cheering you on saying 


"Way to go! Way to hustle!"