I was at church on Sunday, and during the praise and worship portion, was so overcome with joy that I held up both arms in that classic pose of YES! As soon as I did it, I flashed back to the previous night.
See, there was this football game involving Georgia and Auburn where things got a little crazy. Now I’m a VOLS fan, through and through, and normally I wouldn’t even turn on the Georgia game, much less cheer for them. Since my husband is a UGA grad, and my daughter was born on Georgia soil, I decided to let the game run, on mute, in the background. It wasn’t that exciting of a game anyway – when the 3rd quarter ended, Georgia trailed 17 to 34. But then came the 4th quarter and Georgia scored a massive 21 points. With only a little over a minute left to play, they led by 5 points! Even I got excited and joined my family in cheering.
Auburn got the ball and went nowhere, fast. Now with only 30 seconds left, they were 4th and 18 and the goal line was a mile away. The game was over, Georgia was about to pull off one of the greatest comebacks in history.
Then this happened:
Unbelievable.
Anyway, back to church. As I was sitting there listening, I started thinking about God, and the SEC, and Georgia and basically how there are a lot of biblical lessons in that game. For Auburn fans:
- Miracles still happen. Sure the clock is running out and you’re on the brink of defeat, and if God doesn’t come through in a big way, you are done, but He does! When you least expect it, and probably not at all HOW you expect it, you win!
- Being faithful pays off. Who knows if Ricardo Louis REALLY believed that Auburn would win, but he still ran down field as fast as he could go, and was in the right place, ready for the miracle. What if he’d seen those two Georgia players and had just given up?
- God is merciful and loving even if you don’t deserve it or do bad things, like charge $38,000 dollars a year for tuition.
Yeah, that’s great for AUBURN, but what about Georgia fans? What’s the big biblical lesson in crushing defeat? I mean, besides that God loves everyone apparently, even people from Alabama? For Georgia fans:
- Sometimes, your assistance is not required. Did you see that pass? It was SHORT. The game was over, but as the two Georgia players went for the ball, they actually knocked it into the enemy’s hands! It hurts every time I look at it.
- You have an enemy that is walking around like a lion, (or tiger, as the case may be) looking to devour you, so be on guard at all times, like maybe EARLIER in the game instead of waiting until the last minute.
- Be disciplined. Georgia might not have been in this position if they’d gotten fewer penalties. Stop messing around and get serious about your game.
The good news is that while your enemy rejoices, the game is not over! Your God is the quarterback, the wide receiver, the corner back – the Holy Trinity and one day EVERYONE, including the refs with their stupid, yellow flags, will bow down! The play clock has no end and He had as many downs as He NEEDS. If that’s not worthy of face-paint, I don’t know what is!
When it comes to SEC football, I’m not stranger to heartbreak. Who can forget Tennessee’s almost touchdown in overtime which would have meant a win over *Georgia? But as it says in Job 13:15 – Though He slay me, still I will hope in Him.
Christians, like SEC fans, know that while life with GOD is not always easy, the alternative is unthinkable. No way we’re going to hell. Or the Big 10, as the case may be.
*See comments.
You’re smart. And clever. Smart and clever. But then again, I’m in the big 10.
First: Tennessee’s almost touchdown in OT was against GEORGIA. Florida wasn’t even close.
Second: Murray didn’t score that last TD on 4th & goal, the only ref to call it on the field had his back to the play. It would have been overturned if there had been a camera in the right place. Since there wasn’t undisputable evidence, the call on the field stood. The miracle catch was simply God setting things back right.
Third: List seem more effective when there are three things.
1. You are right. For once. The post has been updated!
2. You are wrong. As usual. He went across the line and his knee went down at the same time. TD!
3. You are right. Keep doing what I do and you’ll be fine!
1: Of course
2: God seems to disagree with your keen FB insight. See Auburns next possession.
3: I’m hungry
Thanks, Mantamy. Also, I’m so sorry. But you’ve lived in Georgia a long time and you married a Florida boy, so it’s not too late to change your ways. Think fast, Jesus is coming soon.
Throughout the great pattern of thnigs you get an A for effort and hard work. Where you misplaced me was on all the specifics. As people say, the devil is in the details And that couldn’t be more correct at this point. Having said that, permit me reveal to you just what did work. The article (parts of it) is certainly incredibly engaging which is possibly the reason why I am making the effort in order to comment. I do not make it a regular habit of doing that. Second, even though I can see a jumps in reason you come up with, I am definitely not sure of just how you seem to connect your details that help to make the final result. For the moment I shall yield to your point but trust in the future you connect your facts much better.