Being a goalkeeper is like being the guy in the military who makes the bombs - one mistake and everyone gets blown up.
Artur Boruc
What if you were on a soccer team or better yet, a hockey team and you look over at your goal and there stands a three year old? Yeah, no pads, no helmet, no clue. What is that you hear? Is she singing? What the heck? Is this a joke? Nope. She is guarding your goal. Yeah your goal. The place where the opponent racks up the points. He can ruin your life and take you right out of the game. The T-shirts stop selling, the fans stop coming to watch, because a three year old doesn't have a clue how to be a goalie.
Now, what if that same three year olds parents were there and they suited her up for her own protection and then they suited up themselves and after a good chest bump and a holler and, of course they moved the child behind the protective glass, they stood beside each other filling most of the opening to the goal. Yeah, now we are selling some T-shirts.
The point? Watch over your heart with all diligence, For from it flow the springs of life. Proverbs 4 is about getting wisdom at any cost and verse 23 says to guard your heart. The enemy knows when we are three our heart is young and vulnerable. Perfect for attack. He gives us parent's to watch over our hearts because obviously we cannot. As in the illustration above, no child can be expected to guard their heart against the schemes of the enemy.
When the lies of the enemy, through trauma, abuse, etc., make it into the heart of a child they are much easier to believe, than when that child gets older and learns truths. If that child learns truths. Every truth learned is another lie blocked and the opening gets smaller and smaller. I think we call that maturity.
If there is shame the child is less likely to go to the parent to exchange the lie for truth. If the parent does not believe or for some reason does not exchange the lie for truth, the lie multiplies. See, if you receive the enemy's lies as truth it will get in your heart and you will act out those lies. The enemy is taking shots at your heart and your child's heart 24/7, not just for a 60 minute game. And after a shot gets through like a goalie ,we can't just go hide amongst the team. Every shot that gets through changes the game. We always have to have the truths out number the lies to win.
Hockey is murder on ice.
-Jim Murray
