All I have to say is, thank God there are no tryouts for Heaven! Let’s take a little journey back to my high school days. When I say “little journey,” I’m talking over thirty years ago.
It seemed difficult enough dealing with homework, clubs, and passing all of those notes–add cheerleading tryouts to the mix, and then it really gets interesting. It seems we spend our lives just trying to fit in, to be good enough.
I’ll never forget trying out for cheerleading in high school. I was at a definite disadvantage not having been a cheerleader before. Many of the other girls had been cheering since they were five, and knew all the right moves. On the day of the tryouts, I noticed that some of the girls had left campus during lunch. I later learned they ran out to buy those cute little Keds sneakers; you know, the spotlessly clean, white canvas ones? Remember those? The ones that actually looked like girls’ shoes, instead of the ones that looked like you borrowed them from your brother? I don’t even have a brother, but I bet you can guess what kind of shoes I wore to the tryouts..I didn’t remember any of the girls wearing Keds during the cheerleading camp. It was as if they waited until the very last minute to produce them, like it was some kind of cheerleader’s secret dress code; could it be a cheerleading conspiracy?
Finally, the time had come and it was my turn to face the judges. I wasn’t looking forward to getting up in front of all of the other girls..I began to sweat a little. The panel of judges were sitting at a long table that seemed to go on forever. I stood up slowly then walked forward to face them. At least I didn’t trip.
I don’t really remember much of my routine, except that I pretty much choked; mainly because I couldn’t remember much of my routine… I couldn’t remember the words or most of the moves I had practiced. I really did practice, honest… I just froze. Ever had that happen to you?
I’m not really even sure why I wanted to be a cheerleader, but I think my dating the quarterback could have had something to do with it. I mean, shouldn’t the quarterback’s girlfriend be a cheerleader? Isn’t that some type of football tradition? Maybe it was because they got to wear those cute uniforms to school on pep-rally days. So perhaps I wanted to do it for all of the wrong reasons. I know for some of the girls, it would have been the end of the world if they had not made the squad. I even remember one girl saying that her mother wanted to move her to a new school, but if she made the squad, she could stay. That’s pretty major. I don’t know how I would have felt knowing I got her spot and she was out.
Now, please don’t misunderstand me. I know I may sound a little bitter, but I’m really not. I do admire the cheerleaders of America, and know they work very, very hard to make the squad and to stay on it. I know they have to keep their grades up and represent their schools, even while attending parties and functions not related to school events. I just feel strongly that if a student wants to represent his or her school and cheer for their team, they should be able to do it, whether they can do three back flips in a row or not. It seems the only criteria you should have to meet is to have a good pair of lungs and some school spirit. Of course, that alone won’t win the trophies at competitions, so we really do need those great back flips, back-bends, and walk-overs.
I wonder how many girls like me had tried out, didn’t make it, and remembered that feeling for the rest of their lives. The feeling that you weren’t good enough or talented enough.
You do learn from the whole experience. If you make it, you learn the discipline of what it takes to stay with it. If you don’t make it, you learn that you have to pick yourself up and keep the faith. Life will disappoint you if you let it. You can’t change some of the things that may happen to you, but you can control how you react to them; you have a choice… One thing is for certain, God will never let you down. He is always with you no matter what. He didn’t allow me to win a spot on the squad, because there was a reason why it wasn’t the right thing for me.
So here I am years later. I wasn’t a high school cheerleader, but I have been cheering ever since. I’ve cheered for my children and grandchildren, their accomplishments, and how they make me feel proud every day. I’ve cheered for my family members and friends and rejoiced with them as they’ve celebrated successes. I’ve cheered for my husband who achieved his Bachelors Degree while working to support his family, built his own business, and continues to make me laugh every day.
Most importantly, I cheer for Jesus Christ and how he gave His life to save me…me, that girl who didn’t make the cheerleading squad… I pray every day that all of my friends and loved ones would come to the saving knowledge that He is the way, the truth and the life. That He is our One and Only Savior, The Way, The Truth, and the Life…(John 14:6)….the only way to the Father, and that Heaven will cheer for them as they commit their lives to Him.
Aren’t you glad there are no tryouts for Heaven? We don’t have to wait for that letter in the mail saying “thank you for trying out, but you were not selected.” We have all been selected. We are all invited into God’s family. God has made a way for each one of us… by accepting the free gift of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior….
I am a cheerleader! Who knew?! I will keep cheering for the King of Kings and Lord of Lords.
…I wonder if I’ll be able to do a back- handspring in Heaven…Hmmmm…
How about you? Can you do a back-handspring? Share a high school experience that made an impact on your life….in a good way….in a God way….
Michelle, you are so full of spirit (and The Spirit!) that I can totally see you as a cheerleader! I'm so glad you were blessed, you are so precious to all of us who know you. EnJOY your day and thank you for sharing your comments; It blesses me right back! 🙂
As one who did make the cheer squad- but then again at a small school everyone makes the squad- you hit it on the head when you said you can't change some of the things that happen to you but you can change how you react to them. Thanks for sharing this post, I was blessed by the words today- needed it. Thanks again.
Thanks Lisa! Your encouragement means a lot to me:) The cheering story is one I wrote a few years ago. I figured there are others out there that could relate to my experience. I would love to reach more people somehow, to encourage and spread the Joy of the Lord. It truly is our strength 🙂 Words are so powerful, especially when they are inspired through The Word!! I know you feel the same way…
Wow…blessed to read this and then to read the following comments. So glad you are blogging Doris!
Kris, you are such a blessing and a wonderful mother. I know it is a very difficult thing to see your daughter struggling. Now the good news..The Lord is near to those who have a broken heart(Psalm 34:18)..He knows every tear you've cried. You are absolutely right when you said I have probably been where you are right now. When my daughter was about that same age, she was having a baby. She was so afraid to tell us, that she wrote us a note and then went to a friend's house. I can only imagine what she must have been feeling, waiting for us to read it. We tried to stay very positive and supportive. It was a rough road, filled with many emotional twists and turns. The father of the baby was just an immature teenage boy. He was supportive of her in the beginning, but then things changed. It was so heartbreaking to see her so hurt and devastated, but then we had this new little life…joy in the morning, beauty from ashes. So here she was this new mom (and me a new “Gammy”), not quite knowing what her future would hold. Since she hadn't finished school, she completed and received her GED. Then a friend had mentioned entering the CNA program, so she decided she would try it. After becoming a CNA, she went back to school and became an LPN this past year August, and turned 24 in November. She is currently continuing her education to become an RN. This was totally a God thing, as just a few years ago, I was just praying that she would have some kind of passion for something, anything! Sounds like the same thing you said in your post, us mom's think alike! Now that I see my daughter in this role, I know she was born to be a nurse. She didn't know it, I didn't know it, but God did. It gets hard sometimes when we can only see today, the situation that we're in right now..Thankfully, God knows the rest of the story. His word says “Do not worry” (Matthew 6:25). He wants us to cast ALL of our cares upon Him. When you really just give it all to God, saying “God, I can't do this..I'm giving this up to you and I know you can take us through this”, He surely will. You will have so much peace when you turn it over to Him. We're only human after all, and try to fix everything ourselves, but it's like an uphill battle. He understands, because we're his kids too. He gave his only Son for us, that's how much He loves us, and how much Jesus was willing to sacrifice for us. I believe he has us go through these trials, so that we can use our experiences to encourage others. It also makes us stronger and draws us nearer to God. Then we can say “hey, I've been there and I understand what you're going through. Let me tell you how I made it through…” Pray for wisdom for both you and your daughter. I'll be praying too! I love the verse in Proverbs 3:5 that says “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.”
I'm sure glad I don't need a GPS to get through life, just God's promises!
Thanks for the last line in your post! It made me smile 🙂 xoxoxo
Beautiful, Doris! Much of what you said really touched me; in fact I'll step outside my comfort zone and share with you that right now, as I type these words, the tears are streaming down my face. The words that touched me the most here are “Life will disappoint you if you let it.” I know that you, having two children yourself, have probably been where I'm at right now. My heart is aching watching my 18 year old daughter struggle to find her place in this world. She is in a 14 month long program (an eternity to an 18 year old!) at Aveda that not only she has no passion for, she is downright miserable. Each day brings new struggles and tears, and talks of quitting. It's heartbreaking to watch, to not step in and insist she stick it out, or even worse, to tell her to go ahead and quit because I can't stand to see her so miserable. Our hopes and prayers for her is that she follows through with her education. Even if it is not the career path she chooses (and we are certain she wont!), we feel she won't look back and regret pushing through, but she most likely WOULD regret if she quit. We want her to find her passion, her destiny, and we want her to understand that people and circumstances can let her down, but how she reacts to that is up to her. Our prayer is that she learns to rise above and learn from those situations and disappointments to become the woman she is meant to be. I pray that years from now, as we (and she) look back at this time, we will, like you, realize that there was a reason for all of this craziness and roller coaster ride of emotions. A lesson to be learned. Strength and knowledge to be gained.
In closing, girl I just KNOW you'll be doing back handsprings in heaven!! xoxoxo