Last Sunday the Kansas City Chiefs won the Super Bowl in quite an exciting game. I was rooting for the Chiefs to beat the San Francisco 49ers. Before the game I was going back and forth with my 4 year old grandson who was rooting for the 49ers. He couldn’t understand why I was rooting for the Chiefs. He lives outside of Boston and is a rabid Patriots fan but for this game was cheering on San Francisco and talking some trash while he was at it. (Let me take a moment here to congratulate my son in law Mike for raising his son in the way he should go and effectively steering him to walk in his footsteps. Unlike me, who failed with my own son. Somehow James, in his rebellious years, became a Yankees, Devils and Jets fan. Where did I go wrong? But I digress). Vinny was rooting for San Fran because his mother, our daughter Laura, lived there for several years and since his Patriots were not in the game he went with who his mother was cheering for. (Again, kudos to Laura for raising him the right way). Since they were all rooting for the 49ers, why in the world, he thought, wouldn’t I be rooting for them. So I had to explain to him that I lived in Kansas City for a year and have very fond memories. I even went to a Chiefs-Jets game while I was out there. I caught my only foul ball at a Royals game. I met Chiefs legendary quarterback Len Dawson and he showed me his Super Bowl ring from 1970. I met some great people and developed friendships. And there was amazing Bar B Q. Oh, and I went to seminary out there too. That was over thirty years ago but more recently Susan and I went there twice in the course of four months and had a great time. Nonetheless, he couldn’t understand and was not at all happy that his team lost. I gloated only for a little while.
Our hearts are shaped by the people and events who impact us. My daughter rooted for San Francisco because she lived there, not because she was always a big 49ers fan. I rooted for the Chiefs because I lived in Kansas City for a brief but significant time. She didn’t stay in SF and I didn’t stay in KC. They were stops along the way and stepping stones to bigger and better things. But they were important because they shaped us and helped us to grow, develop, deepen and learn about ourselves and about life in general. Certain people, places and times in life will hold meaning and be impactful for a host of different reasons.
It is said that God does not waste anything. Every piece, broken, incomplete or whole, is made useful in His hands. When Jesus miraculously fed over 5,000 people with two fish and five loaves of bread He directed His disciples to “Gather the pieces that are left over. Let nothing be wasted” (John 6:12b NIV). Twelve baskets were filled with the leftovers. Of course I don’t eat leftovers so I would have let them there. But it wasn’t enough for Jesus to feed the people until they were full. He wanted every last crumb collected. Because in God’s hands nothing goes to waste. Nothing goes unnoticed. Everything, every last crumb, matters to Him. And that includes our lives. Every year, every season, every interaction, every day is filled with His presence. If we are willing to receive it we will be able to see it. May every experience, every challenge, every victory and every defeat be used by Him for His glory and for our good.
What do you think?
How does it make you feel?
Shalom
Steven