COME ON REF!

I yell at referees. I can't help it. I try not to. Sometimes I even try really hard not to. But then, they do it. They make some bone head call and here I go. "Come on.... That is NOT a charge. There's NO way he was set," or maybe, "That's a foul! COME ON REF! Make the call!" You get the idea.

For a while I quit trying not to yell. I had been to a basketball game and heard a nun, wearing a full habit, yelling at the ref, "Hey BUCKO! Quit trying to even up the score!" (For the record, her team was ahead by 20 points or so.) So, like any well intentioned basketball fan, I interpreted it as a sign from God. As long as I call him BUCKO, it's okay to yell! The problem is Bucko just doesn't flow for me. So I'm back to COME ON REF.

At least I was until last night. Last night, as we were walking into our son's basketball game, the referee was walking in at the same time. I offered to let him go ahead, as we were walking fairly slow. He chuckled and said he was in no real hurry. I laughed and told him I could understand that since I would probably be yelling at him in a little while. He replied, "Well, you won't be the first and certainly won't be the last." We all laughed together and then parted ways as we went into the gym. Then, an amazing thing happened. I didn't yell at him. Of course he made a couple of "bone head" calls. My husband's uncle even said, "Now, you can yell at him". But I didn't. Overall he called a pretty good game. Especially considering the other referee didn't show and he had to call the game by himself. But it was more than that. He had showed up knowing that someone (like me) was going to judge every call he made, and eventually, someone (like me) was going to yell at him. Yet, he still showed up. He showed up in spike of people like me, so the kids could play the game.

It makes me wonder. If every morning when I left the house, I knew that a crowd of people were judging my every decision, and if I messed up someone would yell out loud and point out my mistake, would I show up? "COME ON LADY! Get it right! What's wrong with you?" If that's what I had to look forward to would I ever leave my house? I wonder, would just quit showing up or would I have the fortitude to show up anyway.

Tonight, I'll get another chance to yell, or not yell, at the referees. Hopefully I'll remember last night's encounter and leave the yelling to someone else. If you don't judge or yell at refs this probably makes no sense to you. But, think about this: Who is your referee? Is there someone in your life that you are especially hard on? Someone that you judge or comment on everything they do? If so, that someone just might be your referee.

"There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the one who is able to save and destroy. But you- who are you to judge your neighbor?" James 4:12 NIV

My Prayer:

God, help me to remember that we are all your children and we all make mistakes. Help me to work on my own short comings and quit pointing out the other guy's. Thank you for those that have the courage to still show up even when they know they will be judged and yelled at. Give me the courage to keep showing up just in case I get it right. Most of all God, thank you for loving me even when I yell at referees. Amen.