On my way home that day, I noticed a house nearby. All season the sign in the front yard read: "Boycott the NFL" -- a response to the "Take a Knee" movement. A new sign cheers: "GO EAGLES!" They are still part of the NFL, right?
As the big game approaches, I have heard folks who bad-mouthed coach, players, front office, even Aramark employees, suddenly pledge their undying loyalty and hard-earned cash in favor of the residents of 1 LFF Way. A certain someone who decks the family Christmas tree in blue and silver for some rival Southwest team, and talks trash about Philadelphia on a regular, has already begun rooting for the Eagles.
But it's just a sport, right? It's just a game. (Maybe if you live somewhere other than Philly.) Switching loyalty is as easy as changing your shirt, or the sign in your front yard, or your FB cover pic. In life, it's a little different.
I always knew the truth about Jesus, but I always knew how much fun life was without Him. Well, I thought I knew. I'd look at all the smiling "goody-goodies" in school and think, "There's no way they can be that good and still be that happy. They are so fake." Or, I'd look at classmates I knew for certain Christians and I'd rationalize, "You are so insulated and so loved. If God loved me the way He loves you, I could trust Him, too. But I have to survive, and you know nothing of the real world." Then, there were the adults who wanted to talk to me about Jesus. They would talk and I would think, "Yeah, well, you're like ninety; when I get to be that age I'll sit around all day and read the Bible, too. Maybe I'll even understand it by then." I knew switching sides was not going to be easy. At that point, it wasn't even something I wanted to do.
Fast forward to years later, more than my share of wild oats sown, lots of mistakes and lots of scars to remember them. My marriage had been crumbling for years and I could no longer remember who I used to be. I caved. There was no weighing of options -- I had none, not if I wanted to keep my sanity and my children. There was no making of excuses -- they would have never held up against the weight pressing in on me. I surrendered. I switched loyalties, and I was all in. Well, as all in as I knew to be at the time.
Since that day, my life has been wonderfully transformed. But it didn't happen overnight. It was one small prayer, accompanied by lots of tears of frustration and fear, that set me on this path. And I didn't even know what to expect, but I knew I had nothing to lose. I began reading my Bible and praying each day -- a curiosity and thirst for the Lord had settled in my heart. I had to know more. The more I read, the more I wanted to read. The more I prayed, the more I wanted to pray. The more I gave, the more I wanted to give. And my life really began to change! No more lies to cover other lies; no more pleasing everyone, or constantly keeping one plate after another spinning; with Christ in mind, I wanted to make right choices. When problems came; I prayed and trusted God. It was not the same drama day after day. Trust me, drama still had my address, but I didn't create it, and I didn't have to engage in it! I just had to trust Jesus. And then there was the excitement -- brothers and sisters all over the world to talk to, to pray for, to worship with! Camaraderie and kinship in Christ.
This is not the snore through Sunday service, sit around listening to the clock tick, talk softly kind of life I thought it would be. And Jesus challenges me to give Him more each day! The more I give, the more blessed I am. And the more there is to do. It is crazy! But it starts with one small prayer.
You don't even have to change the colors on your Christmas tree!
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