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By Ed Sunday-Winters
This past Monday morning, at 12:01 a.m., I was at the football field at Karns High School. I was not alone, the Karns High School Varsity Beavers took to the field just after midnight to begin their fall practice. They had to be there. I, on the other hand, did not. Well — I say that, but I would not have missed it for anything.
I was there primarily because my oldest son was practicing and my youngest son wanted to see the spectacle. There were some other young people from church practicing and in the stands watching. I enjoyed seeing them and chatting with other parents.
You might say that being out at such an odd hour to watch a football team practice was a foolish thing to do, and I would not argue that point. However, what was really foolish was staying there until almost 2:00 a.m. even as I felt my sinuses beginning to congest.
Foolish and unnecessary, maybe; yet somehow full of excitement and energy. A new season is beginning. Not a single game has been played. Players have been preparing all through the winter and spring. The time is close at hand. What will be is yet to be. For now, the outcome is carried in their hopes.
This midnight encounter was as much celebration as it was practice. To be certain, it was a practice. There was tackling, blocking, and running. Young men were sore the next morning. Yet it was more than just practice. There were memories to recall. Remember Dobyns-Bennett two years ago? When was the last time Karns made the playoffs? That would be last year. There was a new season just about to start. A new beginning.
Getting to start over — getting to try again — is one of the best things about life. Every time we try something again, there is always the possibility that we will get it right or at least we will improve over the last time. At the same time, starting over and beginning anew is not without risk. There is always the possibility that this time around will be no better or perhaps even worse than the last. Anxiety and anticipation go hand in hand when we start fresh.
One of the great things about following Christ is that there are always opportunities to try again, to start fresh. God, in Jesus Christ, is always inviting us to start a new season. In football, those who are not successful do not always get the chance to try again. When we fail in our walk with Christ, if we confess our own failure, He forgives us. In football, they keep record books. How else would we know that J. D. Depree, a University of Michigan graduate, coached the Big Orange in 1905 and 1906, compiling a record of 4-11-3. Thankfully, God does not keep these kinds of records. Nor is God concerned about our credentials. God only wants to love us and be loved by us. Every day with Jesus is another opportunity to try again — a new season, if you will.
Yet there is more to our relationship with God than an endless cycle of trial and error. There will be an end to that. There will be a time when we, like the ten bridesmaids in Matthew 25, hear a cry at midnight, “Look! Here is the bridegroom! Come out to meet him.” So we will! Let us “keep awake...for [we] know neither the day nor the hour.”
Joy and peace,
Ed
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