Ashland University women's basketball coach, Sue Ramsey, received the Kay Yow Heart of a Coach Award at the Women's Basketball Coaches Convention last month.
Sponsored by the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, the award is given to a basketball coach who exemplifies the way Coach Yow loved, disciplined, taught, mentored and inspired her players throughout her 30+ years on the sidelines.
I had the honor of introducing Sue at the award breakfast, and as I considered her coaching career and life, one thing kept surfacing in my heart: the principle of sowing and reaping.
Sue has sown seeds of hope, love, faith, life, discipline, encouragement and perseverance into the lives of countless young women for years, and is reaping the benefits. Not just in honors like this one, but even more so in watching
her players graduate and become women of influence.
This reminded me of the 7 Laws of the Harvest that I learned from some friends recently (thanks Denise & Diane!):
1. We reap only what has been sown — every choice has a consequence; we reap something positive or negative from everything we (and others) say and do.
2. We reap in the same kind as we sow — just as watermelon seeds won't produce peas, sowing discord won't lead to unity and sowing lies won't lead to truth.
3. We reap more than we sow — the harvest is more bountiful than the seed planted; sowing good results in even more good and vice versa.
4. We reap in proportion as we sow — the amount sown impacts the harvest; sow more, reap more; sow less, reap less.
5. We reap in a different season than we sow — no harvest comes instantaneously, it always takes time; plants don't grow overnight, athletes don't get strong in a day, wisdom isn't gained in a week.
6. We reap the full harvest of the good only if we persevere — weeds pop up naturally in gardening and in life, they need no help; but harvesting the good takes perseverance to maintain conditions in which the seeds can grow.
7. We can't do anything about last year's harvest, but we can do something about this year's harvest. We can't change the past, but we can impact the future by what we chose to sow today!
Check out: www.lifebeyondsport.com
