Right now parents and carers around the country are trying to grab a few more precious moments of sleep before they're dragged kicking and screaming into consciousness by a child desperate to go out into the cold and do some kicking and screaming of their own. While most of us are still in our pajamas, there is a dedicated minority who have an icy start to the day struggling to keep warm on a touchline.
I've seen some of the benefits of early morning football training with my birth children, but it was with one particular foster son that I really witnessed the transforming power of sport. He'd had a difficult start to life and struggled with almost everything – concentrating, coordinating, anxiety attacks, poor eyesight, socialising, behaviour. I took him to burn off some energy, but as the coaches invested time and attention in him, he grew in confidence and self-esteem – precious things for a young footballer likely to spend his entire childhood in the care system.
Unlike Bill Shankly, I'm not convinced that football is more serious than life or death, but I do believe sport can be a force for good in the world. For my foster son, sport was the sound stage for kind words to be spoken. Sport was the social context to receive a rare pat of affirmation, a cheer of celebration or an embrace of commiseration.
But praise needn't be confined to a cold field on a Saturday morning. Let's kickstart a new habit in life-building affirmation and practice today, commending those we rub shoulders with.
Lord God, father to the fatherless, protector of widows and orphans, awaken us today to the opportunities to offer kindness and hope into the lives of those around us. Amen.
This is an adapted version of Krish Kandiah's Prayer for the Day, which he will be giving every day on Radio 4 this week. You can listen to the original broadcast here.
