Ephesians, one of my favorite Bible books, contains gorgeous descriptions of our Father in Heaven: the riches of His glorious inheritance, incomparably great power, mighty strength, the fullness of Him who fills everything in every way, glorious riches, … Magnificent images of our powerful, lavish God.
Ephesians 3:20 is an important verse to me: “(God) is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine.” I know this verse relates to big things like changing lives or saving sinners from eternal separation from Him, but God showed me He can apply it anywhere He wants to—even on a soccer field.
On the night of the last regulation game, the conference title was on the line. If our team won, we’d win the conference—with an undefeated record.
As usual I prayed for protection for both teams, for my daughters to play well and score. Hattie, a sophomore, played sweeper, a defense position, but I knew she could carry the ball up the field and shoot if she had to.
Anna, a senior, was a solid player but not a standout. Playing right mid-fielder, she’d scored one goal all season.
Less than two minutes into the game, Anna lobbed a beautiful kick from her position just over the eighteen yard line. As I watched the ball sail in a beautiful arc, it seemed to fly in slow motion. It spun just above the keepers yearning fingertips and sank into the upper left-hand corner of the goal. Did I mention that it was beautiful? The most beautiful kick I’ve ever seen.
Our team grabbed the lead and held on to that lonely but important goal all night. Nobody else scored on either team. Princeton won the game, secured the conference title (for the first time in the school’s history), and ended regular season undefeated.
When these seniors had started playing together on the eighth grade team, they endured the first game’s eleven to zero pummeling, the humiliation of a smart-alecky keeper sitting down in the box because our team couldn’t advance the ball past mid-field, and more character-building seasons than we like to remember.
When I’d prayed for a good game, a win, and maybe a score by my daughters, I never dreamed that Anna would be responsible for the game-winning goal.
God showed me the meaning of “immeasurably more” with a perfect kick in a high school soccer game.
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