A sad day at our house today. I took our stadium seats out of the car which means one thing, basketball season is over. We have left the seats in the car since school started as we travelled to volleyball and most recently basketball games. I can tell you which schools has the best seating in their gyms, and whose gyms are more challenging. I have ranked the popcorn and can tell you we have eaten some of the finest popcorn ever made. We have traveled, visited, cheered, watched, and we have loved every minute of it. It has been a huge PART of our lives since school started.
When our kids were in school they wore shirts that said things like, “Wrestling is Life”, “Basketball is Life”. You name a sport or activity and there was a t-shirt printed with the phrase. For some that is how sports or any other activity is viewed. “It is my life”, “I have devoted my life to it!”, “I can’t imagine life without (insert whichever sport or activity). I am a huge advocate for sports and activities such as 4-H and FFA, drama, science club, rodeo, gardening you get the picture! All are incredibly great PARTS of our life, I worry a bit when we consider them to be our life.
Amazing lessons are learned as we navigate our way through all of these things. Lessons that will be remembered for the rest of our lives. Our granddaughter Brenly, was injured a year ago in the regional tournament and she wasn’t able to compete with her team in the state tournament. Was it difficult? I will answer with a resounding yes!!!! If basketball was her “life”, then life for her at that point was over.
Our friend Jason has qualified for the Boston marathon and trains like no other. That guy is out there in temperatures that the rest of us would be snuggled up with a cup of coffee, but not Jason, he is running and training. Not long ago he suffered a knee injury that made it questionable whether he would be able to run in the big race. At this point he is able to run, but if he hadn’t of been, would his life be over. If you were to ask Jason, it would be a resounding no! Running is a huge PART of his life, but not his life.
Greg and I poured ourselves into our ranch for the last 46 years. We are now retired. If we were to say that ranching is our life, does that mean that our lives are over? The truth of the matter is, that we have much life ahead of us that we are pretty darn excited about.
If I were to design a sweatshirt that says, “____________ is life”, what would I say? I have been around long enough to know that even though there are many wonderful things out there that become a huge part of our lives, eventually they will let us down our fade away. I have learned that the only one that is true life is my savior, Jesus. We are getting ready to celebrate Easter, celebrate the death and resurrection of the one who came to give us LIFE and life to the fullest. We can have a lot of things that are a huge part of our life, but there is one who IS life, and his name is Jesus. Think about it friends, what would your t-shirt say?
John 14:6 Jesus said, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
John 10:10-The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life and have it to the full.
