Guest Post – “For Love of the Game”
15 Sep
My husband is the strongest, most steadfast man to walk the face of the planet. I know this because he married me. :)
And he wrote a special post for you guys to enjoy…
For Love of the Game
On the opening weekend of the college football season I had the privilege and pleasure of taking my 10 year old son, Keegan, to the Oklahoma State vs. Georgia game. It was one of the greatest college football experiences I have ever had. The atmosphere was electric as tens of thousands of people converged on Stillwater. Keegan was getting in to it. The pregame show was a blur of energy and sound. The crescendo was when four jets from Vance Air force base flew over the newly renovated stadium. This is where I get excited as the game starts and Keegan ( I did not realize this until later) started to lose interest. During the first quarter I became more and more frustrated with him. He was doing everything but watch the game. I even went so far as to suggest I might bring someone else next time if he goofed off the whole time.
It finally dawned on me that the reason he was so disinterested in the game was he didn’t understand it. I never took the time to explain what was happening on the field. So, for the rest of the game I taught him how football was played. At first, he humored me. However, as the game continued you could see the interest in him come to the surface. He began to ask questions about the game and even began to understand some of what was happening on the field. So I continued to teach him the game, to disciple him in the ways of college football. By the end of the game all he had were two questions,
“Can we go to the Hideaway and when is the next game?”
So on October 31st we will head back to Stillwater a to stare down mad cow disease in the form of Bevo and the Texas Long Horns. At that game I will continue to disciple him to love football.
Everyday between now and October 31st and for years to come I will disciple him, I will teach him not football but the ways of the Lord.
Proverbs 22:6 says,
“Train up a child in the way he should go, Even when he is old he will not depart from it.”(NASB)
I invested a Saturday afternoon in teaching him to love football, I will spend a lifetime training him to live for God, a little bit everyday. I will let him see my passion for Christ and therefore help his passion grow. At times he may get distracted, he might even goof off, but I will not waiver. I will wait for him to show interest and then I will pour into him until he is overflowing.
Everyday is game-day, just make sure your paying attention. You never know when God is going to call an audible and open the door to your child’s heart.
and yet so sad that it’s a Oklahoma State game…
Great thoughts!
Hey at least Mike Gundy is a MAN! Not a Mad Scientist…
I had something similar happen when I went to a Florida Gator game with my two youngest sons, the youngest of which is a Seminole fan. The two boys spent most of the game just picking on each other and not watching unless one team scored. Then they just looked at the replay screen. Well, at least they had fun.
If you’re interested, here’s how I dealt with the whole Gator/Seminole thing. http://tinyurl.com/qnkrkr
I had the exact opposite occur. A switch flipped last year and my son began to watch the Sooners and Atlanta Falcons right along side me. At times, I found him knowing more about players and positions than I ever could process.
It was interesting as the season kicked off this year. We settled down in front of the TV to watch the OU/BYU game. I had my laptop in tow, prepping our large group materials for our kickoff Sunday. My son, eight years old now, began to grow visibly frustrated as the game progressed. He finally asked if I would put my computer away. He wanted me completely there for him during the game. No distractions. It reminded me how important it is to be there for my kids without distractions.
I’m spending time these days looking for opportunities to share God with my children along with the chance just to be with them.
Cool thoughts guys! Glad to see everyone can learn something of value from football
Hmmmmm. Hideaway. They had one of those in Tulsa. I miss Hideaway! The Texas game should be a good one, tons of energy. Too bad though. Now that he understands the game, his first enlightened experience will be a devastating loss for his team.