An 8-0 Team

Sorry I've been erratic in posting. My wife and I have both been battling some upper respiratory illness off and on for a couple of weeks.

Tonight our local high school football team is playing the most important game of their season. They are 8-0 for the first time in decades, and they've travelled 50 miles west to play their toughest opposition to date. The result of tonight's game will likely decide our district's champion.

School was out today, so a few folks at our church offered to feed the team in our facility before they headed out. I went there just to hang out for a bit, and I think I know why the team is successful. True, they are talented and deep, and their conditioning and weight training has been stellar. Beyond that, though, I sensed a major intangible element. Looking over the coaches and the players, I just had an awareness of a great deal of focus and unity. Everybody knows the objective, and each one seems to understand and accept his role, from the starters to the third stringers on the bench. The team exudes an atmosphere in which everyone is valued and everyone contributes and everyone matters.

Due to lingering illness, I won't be at the game, which is underway now. (It's 7:07 p.m., CST.) But this team has already won, in that which will last. Focus...unity...common objective...everyone contributes...everyone matters...not unlike Jesus' vision for the Church.

I'll see you around the next bend in the river.