for KING & COUNTRY

So with Mother's Day coming up I thought I would share a little about why I love my Mother so much and how she impacted my life.

When I was about 13 years old one of my favorite sports to play was tennis. I would take lessons from a coach and would play my older brother who is 7 years older than me alllllll the time to practice so that I could DOMINATE in the local tournaments that I was able to play. Well one issue that I had with tennis was that I hated to lose and always felt like I should win!

In the first round of one particular tennis tournament with my Mother in attendance, I got matched up to a kid who was an okay player but was 2 years younger than I was and after sizing him up while warming up, I was convinced that I should really beat this guy. Well, about mid way through the first set I realized that this guy was a little better than I thought so I tried harder and in doing so, made mistake, after mistake, after mistake. I was getting so angry and after losing an important point, I threw my racket to the ground and said, "COME ON LUKE!" At that very moment I saw my Mum get up and leave the bleachers just outside the tennis court. Needless to say, I lost the match.

When I saw my Mother after the match I was like, "Mum, where'd you go?" Her reply was simple and very direct. She said, "I will not watch my son be so disrespectful and incredibly immature. That was no way to handle yourself in a tennis match or in life." I was speechless and realized the way I had carried myself during the match.

My Mother is a rare breed. She's calm, yet confident and loves her family dearly. I'm thankful that my Mother expected more of me. I'm thankful that she disciplined me and spoke about the things that I didn't want to hear. I'm thankful that she told me over and over again that I was a good boy even when I'd let her down because she could see through all the darkness that surrounded my heart. She always believed in me.