Loving People More than my Devils...

I bet the title of this blog threw a few people for a loop! I am sure some just wanted to read to find out why I love my Devils! You may have noticed by now that I have changed my background to what some know as a March Madness tournament bracket. For some it brings shouts of joy and for others it brings cries of defeat. Some wives enjoy the excitement while others have their bags packed to move out until after April 1st. During the month of March, I live in a house divided. The Straightforward Dad is a die hard Kentucky Wildcat fan while I bleed Duke Blue Devil blue. (If you don't know why this is a bad thing, check out this video .) We knew going into our marriage that this was a union made in basketball hades, but we felt we could make it work. Thankfully, we have had divine help as well! We definitely could not have built the marriage we have on our own!

I won't go into all the interesting conversations and basketball moments that the Straightforward Dad and I have had, but we have both had our ups and downs. However, the Lord has (and I know some people think that our Savior doesn't mess with such little life details--I DO) kept the Devils and the Wildcats from playing one another since we have been married. For those doubters--that will be 8 years in May. For two huge programs like that not to have run into each other in 8 years is incredible. Yes, we count our blessings in our family.

As many of you know, last year my beloved Devils won it all. Once again, I think the Lord knew that for my pregnant self, it was necessary for at least one of my children to be born in a year where they were National Champions. I was set for a repeat as they danced their way into the the Sweet 16 this year. It was there that they had their toes stomped on by an inferior Arizona team. I went to bed at halftime with my boys in the lead by like 4. In the morning, I woke up to the Straightforward Dad telling me that, not only had they lost, they had lost by more than I would have imagined. I have to admit that after he left for work, my heart ached. As I was about to be on the verge of tears (as I always get when they lose) and that sinking feeling was creeping into my stomach, I felt like God kind of slapped me in the back of the head (A little like NCSI's Gibbs does to DiNozzo all the time). I begin to wonder. . .what if I had a heart for people like I have heart for Duke basketball? What if my heart ached for people in need or those who were truly hurting as much as it ached right now? Here I was about to shed tears over ONE basketball game when there were people all around me going through much worse. . .or even worse, when there are people on their way to a very real Hell!

From that moment forward, I have made it a daily goal to love people more. I have tried to do something each day to help someone in need by lifting them up in prayer, offering a kind word, or by offering some assistance. I used to believe that nothing good came out of a Blue Devil loss for me. I know that they learned something from each of their losses, as I am sure Coach K would rip them to shreds at the practice following the loss. What did I get out of their loss? Nothing but a yucky, sad feeling. This time, something good did come out of it! I was able to identify a part of my life that was not what it should be.

Do I still love my Blue Devils? Absolutely! Yet, I have realized that there are some things that are more important than basketball. Basketball isn't immortal--people are! We all live forever. We have to make a choice about where we will spend eternity. Once we make our choice, why would we sit around in a world that is hurting and not offer them a better eternity?

I hope that this will inspire you to get out and love on someone today. I hope that you will choose to put your love to good use!

P.S. For all those who don't know, the Straightforward Dad's team has made it to the Final Four. If they win it all this year it will be pretty neat since my team won last year. Don't ever tell him I said that though! :)