Taking Credit

By Jovanna Lorencin

“Guys, I’m going to let us down so badly!” I said, getting out of the goal. We were at recess one cool, sunny Thursday morning. Me and some other kids (mostly 5^th and 6^th graders) were playing soccer at my school in Michigan. The other days had been burning hot, it being the last week of school, and we were glad for a decent day. We had good players on our team, and one of them happened to be a boy named Judah. Judah hadn’t played soccer in 6 years and yet he was so good! The other team consisted of just 4 boys, Harry, Jack, James, and Kevin. After a lot of consideration, I chose defender as my new position, Mary and a boy named Timothy helped me.

“Your defense is so good!” Harry exclaimed.

“No, we just have good defenders,” I replied, chuckling.

Then disaster struck our team! Some time, about half-time, Judah joined the other team! Sure, we still had Sam, Jerry, Mary, and Timothy, but none of them joining would’ve been a problem because I hadn’t told them all I knew about defending! I had told Judah all I knew about defending!

Does he know too much about me? I often wondered. Yes, he was nearly impossible to get the ball away from! Harry? No problem. Jack? No problem. James? He never even went near the goal. Kevin? No problem. Judah? Big problem. He knew my weak sides, my advantages, my advice for scoring goals, my advice for getting past defenders, everything!

I had just sent the ball towards their goal when it accidentally hit Judah in the legs! He saw the opportunity and took it. I wasn’t far behind and soon we were doing foot-to-foot combat on the edge of the white line. We struggled not to kick it out. I was trying to get the ball away and Judah was trying to get past me and put pressure on the goal. Next thing I know, I’m soaring through the air! Every single body part off the ground! Now, this wasn’t the first time this had happened. I was at architecture camp once and this girl had stolen the ball I was playing with. I chased her all over the gym but she fell and I tripped over her legs. Well, that sent me soaring through the air! That time my hands were quick enough to catch me, but this time they weren’t. I landed on my diaphragm and the side of my neck on the green grass. It was so painful I needed help getting up!

“Jovanna, I’m so sorry! Are you okay?” Judah asked, helping me up.

“I’m fine,” I lied, staggering up.

Sam came running over in his red jersey. “Maybe you need a break.”

“Yeah, I think I’ll take a break,” I replied. I walked away from the field but I was barely past the tire swing when I saw Timothy (Mary had left) taking on Harry, Jack, Kevin, and Judah all by himself. No! I’m not going to leave my team with just one good defender! I thought. Strangely enough, the pain went away and I ran back onto the field. I started thanking my determination. Boy! Am I glad I have a strong determination! Now I can still play my favorite sport! Then it dawned on me.  Jovanna, you nitwit! God’s the one who gave you your determination in the first place! Sorry, God, I guess I wasn’t thinking clearly. Wait a minute, Jovanna! If God put you back in, He probably needs you! Well, the match ended without me doing anything too exciting, but maybe God was teaching me a lesson.