Becoming a fan

We had a wonderful guest speaker today in M2M named Becky White. She is the single mother of 4 teenage boys and if that weren't hard enough, one of her sons suffers from autism. Her talk this morning was not only rich in content, faith and perspective, it also offered plenty of inspiration and challenge. She started by letting us know that she and her boys are all passionate UCLA fans. She told us how they never miss a game, cheer with feverish enthusiasm, and suffer great highs and lows as a result of a win or loss. She even revealed that they always wear school colors to the games and sometimes, even stickers on their faces. Yes, she and her boys are what you call, loyal fans. They could instantly spot those that were true fans versus those that were merely spectators. She went on to say that the true fan will risk much and feel deeply where as the spectator will simply show up and go home, pretty much in the same way that they came.

The "game" she was speaking of, is obviously a metaphor for life and although that's been heard many times, this time, it spoke to me differently. She challenged us to cheer faithfully, celebrate the wins, grieve the losses, and be loyal. She also challenged me to be present in every moment, everyday; to celebrate small and big victories; to view the pain in sacrifice as an act of worship and realize that through the pain or loss, there is a gift waiting for us, a blessing. And lastly, to be loyal to our children in a world that's quick to abandon, exploit, and betray them. Although her morning talk consisted of much more, it left me asking myself, "Do I show up to the game of life as a spectator or as a passionate and excited fan? To be honest, a little of both at times but I could certainly use some more school spirit! It reminded me of my days as a cheerleader when I used to get frustrated that my peers in the bleachers were a little less enthusiastic about rooting on our team. I thought, "Why are you even here, if you're not going to cheer on your team with unbridled enthusiasm?!"

As mothers, I think we can easily get wrapped up in our daily routines of caring for our children and everything else that goes along with that...Schedules, laundry, meal time, cleaning, shopping, baths, etc. Ever since I wrote my post titled, "The Great Pursuit" on 4/22, God has shown up BIG in my life. Or wait a minute... Is it me, that's shown up big? Of course, it's the latter since I know that God has always been there waiting on me. Since I wrote that post, I've been trying to make my moments with the Lord more conscious, more present and more meaningful. What do you know? He has revealed himself to me in a way that I haven't felt in a while and I just love it when I can feel that. I contemplated whether or not I should even write that post but in the end, I wrote it because I wanted my kids to read it one day and understand that I am not a super mom, that I am constantly growing and learning myself and most of all, that I desire to have a real and connected relationship with our Father.

In closing, Becky also said... There is no such thing as "quality time." There is simply just time. Once it's gone, it's gone. You can never get it back. There is much to cheer about in my life and yours. Only our biggest fan isn't sitting on the bleachers. He is right there beside us, cheering us on to victory.

Bring on the face paint.