He'll pass out first

I agonized over the decision of whether or not to let Josiah play in his last soccer game of the season. He has been coughing for 5 days now, and has had a fever bouncing around 100 for the past three days. But every day he tells me how much he wants to play in this game, and that he's feeling normal, even though the thermometer says he's sick. This morning his temp was lower, so after a prayer to seek God's wisdom, and an acceptance that some things are just plain important, we bundled up and headed to the soccer fields.

Standing on the sidelines of the game, I recognized a parent from the other team. His son is an amazing athlete, and we've spoken at other sporting events. AND, it just so happens that he's a doctor at the pediatric office where we take our kids. I went over and said hello, made some small talk, and was about to return to our end of the sideline when I confessed that I felt a little guilty running into a doctor on the sidelines. When he asked why I said that it was against my better judgement to let Josiah play today. As any good doctor would, he asked why I was concerned. I told him about the coughing and the fever and he shrugged and said something like, "He'll let you know. (if he's too sick to play.) He'll pass out before he'll die."

Feeling assured that I wasn't the worst mother on the sideline, I went back to my chair to yell for Josiah - and encourage him to run faster and harder. After all, he'll pass out first.