Trust Over Outcome

Trust Over Outcome

As I reflect this morning, my heart keeps returning to what’s ahead for Bella Love as she prepares for Team USA Trials in Las Vegas. A long tournament. Six games a day for five days straight. Long hours. Mental focus. Physical endurance. And for me as a dad, a daily invitation to walk by trust.

I’m deeply grateful that God has given her this gift and this talent for bowling. I’m thankful for the countless hours of preparation, the discipline she’s learned, and the quiet resolve she carries into moments like this. My prayer today is simple and steady. That God gives her strength. That He gives her endurance. That He carries her through each game, each frame, and each long stretch where patience matters as much as performance.

But even more than that, my prayer is that she remembers what I hope she already knows deep in her heart. I don’t love her for her scores. I don’t love her for her results. I don’t love her for how she performs under pressure. I love her for who she is. For her heart. For her character. For her kindness. For her faith.

The greatest comfort I carry as a father is knowing that her identity is not found in bowling. It’s found in Jesus Christ. That truth steadies me. No matter how the lanes play or how the results unfold, she is already held, already known, already loved.

This morning, as I read the messages Barbi sent me, yesterday rose back up in my spirit. On our way to Vegas, we stopped at The Elliott Group. I visited last year, and that place left a deep mark on my heart. Walking back in yesterday with Barbi and Bella felt sacred all over again.

Yes, it’s a business. But when you walk in, it feels more like church. There’s a servant leadership spirit that fills the space. A humility. A kindness that doesn’t rush past you. Men who lead with both strength and gentleness. Men who pray. Men who listen. Men who genuinely care.

Watching Barbi and Bella be welcomed, prayed over, and loved so freely was a gift. Being prayed over together as a family reminded me that God often meets us in places we don’t expect. That sometimes He prepares our hearts before we even realize what we’re going to need.

Yesterday reminded me that I don’t need to have everything figured out. I don’t need answers to every why. I don’t need to see the whole picture. I simply need to stay rooted in trust. Trust in who God is. Trust in His timing. Trust in His goodness.

The devotional Barbi shared with me this morning met me right there. It spoke directly into what my heart was already holding. A reminder that peace doesn’t come from answers. It comes from daily reliance. From choosing trust again and again, especially when circumstances make it hard.

So today, as Bella steps into this opportunity, and as we continue this journey together as a family, I’m choosing trust over outcome. Presence over pressure. Faith over fear.