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Hands up.


This picture is so intimate for my heart today that I almost chose not to use it, but it definitely belongs here. This is moments after Trey and his friends won the state championship in Murfreesboro almost a month ago. Trey climbed over the metal railing to hug his momma. It is hard to describe how my heart is impacted by these two. This is my home team.

Four years ago, when Trey was a freshman, he felt as though he was one of the last players to make the soccer team at Bearden. He and a few less than a dozen of his freshman buddies started their soccer journey at Bearden which included a state championship that first year. Most of them played on the JV team, but coach Rad includes every player in winning, losing and celebrating, so Trey got his first state championship ring his freshman year. During that year, I am aware that that there was some quiet wondering about what this group of guys senior year would be like. I remember that there was this quiet confidence that if not before then, their senior year could be another state championship year.

And...... it was.

On an extremely hot May afternoon (honestly it was brutally hot), Bearden and Station Camp squared off for the state championship match. It was so intense. It was so hot. It was tight the entire way. After a first half of blood, sweat and vomit, the Dawgs scored first. So much excitement. Momentum swung our way. And then Station Camp stung back and it was knotted 1-1. 90 minutes of intense heat came to a close. Still knotted 1-1. End of regulation. Two ten minute periods of overtime. 1-1. Heading now to two 5 minute periods of sudden death. At the end of those two 5 minute overtimes, the two teams had played 120 minutes in scorching heat. 1 to 1. On to penalty kicks. Wow. The moments leading in to the beginning of penalty kicks was intense and dramatic. You could feel the tension in the air, way hotter than the temperature. So on alternating kicks, each team sent a player to shoot on each opposing goalie. I'm not a soccer player, but I've learned a bunch over all these years. When the goalie waits for the penalty kick to commence, the shot happens so fast that he or she has to decide what direction they will go before the ball is even struck. Each player would place the ball carefully on the blades of grass just so. There would be a brief, eternal pause and the ref would whistle for the kick. On the second kick for Station Camp, Holden (our goalie) surged left and batted the Station Camp shot out of the goal. The Bearden stands and players erupted. Such a huge moment. The Station Camp stands and players tensed in deflation. Still more shots to come. And when the final shot was taken, Holden's early save sealed a state championship for the Dawgs. As the final shot ended, Bearden players, coaches, families and friends all lept and screamed, arms outstretched high into the sky, waving arms, pumping fists, high fiving and profuse hugging. I was right in the middle of it with Lea and Trent and our sweet friends. It was so fun. It was so special. It was so intimate. And then, a few minutes later, the moment pictured above took place.

I was remembering this moment this past weekend as I shared with my student friends from the Bible book of Psalm, chapter 119 and verse 48. This is one of those verses that would be easy to breeze by. "I will lift my hands toward your commandments, which I love, and I will mediate on Your statutes." Hands flying in the air as the final shot is cleared and the celebration begins so belongs. It makes total sense. And, what I was aware of as I consider the precious word of God as a treasure in my life, is that my hands outstretched to Papa in awe and honor of the gift of His commandments, His statutes, His Words makes just as much sense.

It just doesn't seem to happen as much.

I'm kind of imagining what it would have looked like on Sunday if everyone would have jumped up, thrown their hands in the air and cheered profusely after Tracy read the scripture this past Sunday morning......

(Easy Gary, just imagining.)

Hmmmm.

There's more.

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