...hawks and heaven

Anyone who knows me is pretty clear on the fact that I'm not a football fan... but I was yesterday.  As this South by Northwest girl cheered on Seattle's Superbowl Seahawks, I felt so satisfied.  We won.  I'm part of the 12th man.  Granted, I had an AWESOME time on Pinterest while watching the game with my family.  That's just me.

I do love our colors!

...really love our colors...

Here's the funny thing.  I don't really like football.  I never really have.  It seems fairly brutal, and yet if I'm actually at a game, I cheer loudly and have a great time.  But I don't like football.  My brother died playing football.  He was almost 16.  I was 13.  He only played to have an avenue to share with his friends how much God loved them.  The gym at Dothan High School in my hometown of Dothan, Alabama is named the Davis gym.  Someday it will get torn down, I guess, but for now there's a plaque in his honor with this quote, "This is love; to will the highest good for God, for others and for yourself."  That was Jon.  He lived that.  He died living that.  The night before he died, he fell asleep on his knees by his bed praying for his friends. 

One of his best friends went on to be the quarterback for Bear Bryant and even spoke at Mr. Bryant's funeral.  But I still don't like football. 

However, I am a fan today.

There's just something about being part of something you share with millions of others that is uniting, suspenseful, blood pumping and victorious.   Even if that something is watching these huge incredible athletes give their heart and soul to a little torpedo patch of spinning weirdness, seeing if they can grab it and run it across a line no technically different than the lines in the mall parking lot.

What is it?  Why do we get all up on our feet yelling at the screen as if they can hear us from New York?

I think it's unity. 

It's unity.

We call it team.  We call it leadership.  We call it football.  But it's knowing the rules, working hard, playing by the rules, playing together and knowing who your family is.  And the coach.  Yep,  definitely the coach.

It's like marriage.

It's what excites me when I paint my little watercolors of these rookies running out on the field of life.  We cheer them on as they run out of the tunnel, down the isle to the alter. 

And then they get hit.  There are those who don't want them to succeed.  It's hard work.  There are so many parallels to be drawn I could go on all day, but the only way they will win is to listen to the coach... the Guy with the big picture... realize there are rules and how to let the rules protect them.  And they have to protect each other as they fight for a common goal. 

Unity.  No wonder so many marriages don't work.  We're less willing to work, fight, train, listen, commit than NFL players are to a little bouncy ball. 

Imagine if a pro player said, "Well, if my teammate doesn't play hard today then I don't have to either.  In fact, if I'm not happy today, I'll just switch to another team."  Yeah, right.  Like that's gonna make a strong team.

Unity.  It's exciting.  It works.  Sure it has rules and there's a Guy in charge that we don't always even like.  BUT VICTORY IS SWEET!