My son had his first baseball game of this season this evening.  The team came out and surprised everyone by playing well on defense and pitching.  They did so well that they built a huge lead and the game was mistakenly called.  The other team lined up for the mercy rule but the umpires realized that the game was still too early to be called.  Then the other team crawled back in an stayed alive.  As another and another inning progressed the other team gained confidence and momentum and tied us.  In the end I was disappointed although every one else treated this as a win.  I guess I should do the same and be grateful that the boys played above our expectations.  It was a classic case of the glass being perceived as half empty or half full.  But, my intuition tells me that I can exhort the boys to greater achievement by using the loss aspect in balance with confidence building.  In looking back I realize that my expectations became reset in the middle of the game when the boys looked so good, I expected them to trounce the opponent.  But then the skill ratio equalized.  Perhaps this is how I can communicate this to them.  A big win in the beginning and an opportunity to improve attitude, effort, and execution and finish with a win.

Thanks be to God.