Are You Sitting on the Sidelines of Life? Get in the Game!

This below post was made in 2017; however it’s topic is still timely. I wonder what we will learn in the 2020 Super Bowl game between the San Francisco 49ers and the Kansas City Chiefs

So, Super Bowl Sunday just passed, and there is much that could be discussed from the incredible 4th quarter comeback to the roof-opening half-time show (I’ll save the latter for another time). First of all, as the mom of a kid who played quarterback throughout high school and junior college, I watch whomever plays the position on both teams, regardless of which I favour, with an empathy that only a mom can have. So much pressure on performance, yet so dependant on the team! They are subject to much glory, and equally, much criticism. With all that Matt Ryan of the Falcons were doing so remarkably well, it seemed overshadowed by what Tom Brady of the Patriots were not doing so well. Until, he did, of course. Until, he led the history-making comeback. Return to glory!

There is much to be learned from football, actually. We lead, we follow. We shine, we don’t. We can have some really big things coming at us, and sometimes we can maneuver around them. Sometimes we can get ahead of them and even out run them. At other times, we may not even see them coming and yet they knock us off our feet! We often hear that we have to learn to get back up. How about learning how to fall? Football players know how to fall – to fall forward – to stretch and reach to gain as much yardage as possible so that when they get back up, they have advanced.

When you fall, do you fall forward? In other words, do you find yourself further ahead because you are always looking for the ‘advancement’ that comes from living and learning? Or, do you end up in the same old place, or worse, further behind? How do you manage the hard knocks of life?

Here’s the thing. Sometimes we are on offence. Sometimes we are on defence. Sometimes we score. Sometimes we punt. But it’s our game to play. We have to gear up and get on the field. We can’t sit it out on the bench! We do our best and surround ourselves with supporters to cheer us on from the sidelines. Yeah, there will be critics – there always are. But this is our game, and we win just by playing. So, get in it!