The Hard Hitting Game of Life

I attended my first football game in ages last Thursday. We have a very talented young man in our Sunday School class who plays JV football. We had promised him that we would attend one of his games this season. The Straightforward Son was thrilled to attend a sporting event other than basketball or volleyball. (This was his very first football game!)

We drive up to the stadium and haul our little group up the hill to the game. (Who puts the stadium on top of a hill? I mean, seriously!) We pay and head into the bleachers to find our student's parents. The game gets underway and it is apparent from the beginning that this is going to be "one of those games." If you don't know what I mean, let me explain from a coach's point of view. "One of those games" means that absolutely nothing is going to go your way. From the refereeing to the kids tripping over their own shoe laces, everything seems to go against you. No matter how hard the kids play, things just fall to the opposing team. The only thing the team could win was the toss at the beginning of the game--seriously.

Since the game was starting to get away from the team, I started listening to the fans and observing things going on around me. (When I say getting away from them I mean really getting away from them. They didn't get a first down until the 4th quarter.) I really enjoy observing people. As many of you know, I love sports. I really love those where you are allowed some physical contact and elbows (and other body parts) are thrown. Football is right up my alley. I listened to all the comments thrown out by the parents and fans around me. Statements like, "Hit that kid harder!" and "Hit #3 like that this time!" could be heard all around me. My favorite of the evening had a lot to do with shoving some kid's face in the field.

As a mom, I am praying that the Straightforward Kids never step foot on a football field. I am not really worried about them being hurt (although it seems the possibility is higher). I am more concerned that their Straightforward Mom will be brawling in the stands with opposing fans who have declared that their son will "hit my kid harder." As many of you also know, I am not one to mince words. All it will take is one over zealous parent yelling to their son to take mine out, and they will feel the pain of a "mom tackle." I may not be a big girl, but don't they say that dynamite comes in small packages?

Then another epiphany occurred. What I was watching and hearing is so much like our everyday life. We are out there, giving it all we have, and so many are cheering against us. Our number one adversary, Satan, is the number one cheerleader in the roaring chants for us to fall on our butts. He doesn't always sit in the stands and yell for us to fall on our faces. Often, he is on the sidelines, on the bench, and even wearing the pads, staring us in the face on the line. We have other people who often cheer for us to get "hit harder." There are those who would love nothing more than to see certain people on the sidelines after a major hit. You know who they are and if you are one leading the cheers! Ouch, yeah, I just said that. It took me a second to take that in and digest it. Wait, could I really be rooting for someone to get hit like that?

I had to sit back and really examine myself. Had I been cheering for someone to fail? Honestly, I had to answer yes--and more than I would like to admit! Double ouch! I don't think it is always a conscious effort (although sometimes I admit it is), but the words we say and actions we perform prove this fact. It made me realize that I needed to be more aware of myself--especially the things that I say. (Yeah, I know.....this will be a feat!)

This post was more about me than anyone else. As my pastor says, I am preaching to myself too! God doesn't just give us messages for others. We need to pull the ginormous planks out of our own eyes first. I hope this helps someone else be a true encourager. I have been trying to be more of one recently and this hit me like, well, let's just say a pride of lions (inside joke since we were watching the lions play--yeah, dorky I know).