My favorite player

I attended one of my granddaughter's 6th-grade girls basketball games last week. She is a starter, and we were getting blown out. So when it was 25-3 in the fourth quarter she was on the bench.

THAT, however, is when I discovered my favorite player of all time!

If you've never attended a middle school girls basketball game, let me tell you, they are nothing like I imagined. It's often as much wrestling as it is basketball. And they go at it! There are usually several injuries resulting in tears at each game.

This one was no different... until almost the end.

Our coach was letting some of the kids play who never get a chance. The other team was better than us from top to bottom, so it easily could have gotten uglier still. But that's when my hero emerged!

I think she wore number 12 for the opposing team. She was guarding number 23 for us (I have no idea if those numbers are right). At any rate, you could tell 23 didn't often get to play - anywhere. When she dribbled she bounced it high right in front of her with her head bobbing up and down. The first time she did it number 12 easily grabbed the ball and took it down court for a layup. Oh geez, I thought, this was going to be bad.

But something must have happened on that breakaway, because all of a sudden everything changed.

The next time we had the ball number 23 once again bounced it right out there for everyone to see (and steal), and number 12 was again guarding her... But this time she didn't take it. She stood in a defensive position, but I noticed her look in the face of her "opponent." I don't know if anyone else saw it, and I'm not sure why I did, but I could almost feel the compassion clear up in my seat on the top row of bleachers.

Number 12 let number 23 dribble away. It was obvious 23 was not going anywhere with the ball. Her smile was evidence she was ecstatic just to be playing though. And my hero let her! Every now and then I sensed the inner struggle: "should I grab the ball and score another basket, or should I be a human being and let this other girl enjoy the moment?"

She did the right thing. And I was so happy.

I don't know, maybe it was all just my imagination... But I'm choosing to believe that a child was schooling a gym full of adults in the ways of mercy and grace. And it wasn't that she just let her do whatever she wanted. But she let her 'play the game' with everyone else. It was beautiful.

So... whoever number 12 is... more power to you! I hope to never forget this grand achievement on the courts of a 6th grade girls basketball game.

It did my heart good.