THE PARENT IN THE STANDS

There is a devotional for your daughter. There is nothing for the person paying the invoice, driving the four hours, and sitting in the fourth hotel lobby of the season.

This one is for you.

Sixty days written for the parent of an All-Star cheer athlete - and willing to say the things that usually go unsaid.

WHAT IT IS ACTUALLY ABOUT

- The money. What it costs, and the resentment that grows quietly when it strains the household

- The car ride home - and the eleven minutes you talked before she said anything

- The temptation to live through a placement that was never yours

- The group chat you muted, and the parents you compare yourself to

- The coach you do not like, and what to do with that in front of your child

- The sibling who is quietly getting less of you

- The marriage that has run on logistics for eleven months

- Wanting her to be the flyer

- The day she wants to quit - and whether you are relieved or devastated

- The last season, and who you are when it ends

FIVE PARTS

The Cost · The Car Ride Home · The Other Parents · When It Goes Wrong · Why You Do It

THE TONE

Honest, not flattering. You may recognise yourself in a description that is not entirely complimentary - that is the point, and it is written so that recognising yourself is safe rather than humiliating. It describes the behaviour. It never condemns the person.

Each day has something to read, a verse, and a prayer that sounds like an actual tired adult talking rather than a greeting card. Read them in order, or find the one that matches the week you are having.

WHAT IT WILL NOT DO

It will not suggest that God rewards faith with placements. It will not tell you to push a hurting child back onto the mat. Where a day touches a real injury, a child in genuine distress, the body culture in some gyms, or a marriage under strain, it points you toward a doctor, a pastor, a counsellor or the gym owner - because that is the honest answer, and a devotional that pretends otherwise is no use to you at six in the morning on a Saturday in February.

Scripture is quoted from the King James Version, which is in the public domain.