Shade Fight

What if you fought in the shade?

My high school football team used to watch the movie 300 before our games religiously. We absolutely loved it. We even incorporated our favorite line from the movie into our pre game routine, hoopin and hollerin like a pack of crazed wolves as we met our opponent for the coin toss. In some ways, we bought into the Spartan mentality. We identified with the tough frame of mind in which they fought. Our coaching staff drilled into us the ‘no surrender’ attitude of the Spartans long before we ever hit the field on Friday nights.  This alone made Friday nights in K-Mo worth the sacrifices we made in the summer. It was a blast.

My favorite dialogue from the movie takes place between a Persian Military leader and an unranked Spartan warrior. At this point in the movie, the Persian Empire is on a power hungry march determined to obliterate anyone in the way. The Spartans have sent 300 of their most elite to stand up to the Persians, and the first few battles have been huge victories for the stout Spartans. The Persian commander comes to advise the Spartans very arrogantly, to surrender. “Your  wives, your children, your elders will be slaves…but not you…by noon this day, you will be dead men,” He sputters at the Spartan soldier.  Attempting to intimidate the Spartan by the size of the Persian Army, He continues, “A thousand nations of the Persian Empire descend upon you! Our arrows will blot out the sun…”

The Spartan soldier replies with a grin, “Then we will fight in the shade.”

Lets. Go. LETS. GO. LETS GO! LEGGGGOOOOOO.

I know. Some of you are entirely embarrassed for me to be that pumped about this quote from a cheesy macho man film. But I can’t help it. No shame here. I love it. The Spartan is fearless, and quite possibly a little bit crazy. He is not the least concerned with what he will come against in the coming battle. He simply knows no matter what that may be, he is going to fight manfully against it. He embraces the adversity this threat poses, almost thrives off it.

I woke up this Monday morning from an awful dream. I won’t go into lengthy details but Samantha, my bride to be, was tragically killed right before my eyes.  It was very vivid; It was horrifying. I woke up with knots in my stomach.

Samantha is a different woman. I love her with every fiber inside my body. The thought of losing her this close to our wedding day ate away at me. I began soberly asking myself what would I do if I lost her today? Were this to happen, it would without a doubt be the darkest season of my life, the deepest pain I have experienced.

Honestly, a large part of me would want to tuck tail and run. Call it quits essentially, live with a deep anger and resignation in my life. But unfortunately I played football for that hardass Greg Jones and his staff, and they have ingrained in my soul something that would lead me to undoubtedly fight in the shade. 

What If....We had 908 bottles of whiskey at our wedding?

I like drinking Whiskey in my Coke. I like it Alot. I know. I didn’t want my first real blog post to be about alcohol, but it happened. I was recently asking myself ‘What If we had 908 bottles of whiskey at our wedding?’ I know. 908 bottles. It’s a thought that is more than slightly obnoxious. But as I tore through the book Beautiful Outlaw it was a question I could not help but wonder.

Let’s say, hypothetically speaking, it’s January 11^th 2014 (the day of my wedding). The ceremony was beautiful and inspiring (we sure hope so). We have feasted on our delectable breakfast bar and the cake has been cut. We have mingled with our friends and family, and now the real party begins. We’ll say it’s around midnight when Samantha and I’s wedding guests are going absolutely BANANAS.  The party has been lively since 7pm, and no one has intentions of calling it a night anytime soon. The dance floor is crowded with our high school and college teammates joyously (and sometimes shamefully) dancing without a care in the world. They are having the time of their lives when the music is abruptly stopped. The dance floor which was once dim yet colorfully illuminated, is now bright with the buzzkill of industrial light fixtures. What is going on? Why did the party stop?

The bar is out of drinks. No more beer. No more wine. They don’t even have soda. Who would drink a wedding party dry? I’ll tell ya who. It's that Damn Sasquatch. (#billymadisonquotes)

Ok for real though. Let’s say our wedding reception is abruptly stopped due to the complete lack of drinks available to our guests. Talk about embarrassing. Samantha and I couldn’t even provide the refreshments needed to accommodate our friends?! WOW. Epic Fail.

So what would happen next? I suppose most people reading this would suggest that everyone packs it in. Call it a night. I mean we have been enjoying ourselves for close to 5 hours. It’s been a good run. All good things come to end sometime, right? Besides, our guests from out of town have flights to catch the next day. It would be good for them to get some shut eye. This would be the approach that makes the most sense. To be perfectly honest, before I read Beautiful Outlaw, I would probably side with this common sense approach to our problem.

Jesus thinks this approach sucks. Almost two thousand years ago God found himself at a wedding at which this exact situation arose. Jesus was invited to a wedding, and the reception had run out of wine. Nothin, Nathan, Nada.  Jesus’ mother comes up and simply tells him ‘There is no more wine’. She knows who Jesus is, knows what He can do. She is politely hinting for him to intervene. He reluctantly replies ‘Mom, this isn't part of the plan. This is not when I’m supposed to reveal my power.’ Jesus' reply tells us this interrupts his own interests. But there must have been a twinkle in his eye. He simply can't resist what he does next. For the story continues like this:

“Nearby stood six stone water jars, each holding from twenty to thirty gallons. Jesus said to the servants, “Fill the jars with water”; so they filled them to the brim.” – John 2:6-7

Jesus then tells the servants to fill a pitcher full of this fresh nectar for the master of the wedding. When the master tastes it, he is shocked. He exclaims, “Everybody I know begins with their finest wines and after the guests have had their fill brings in the cheap stuff. But you've saved the best till now!”  -John 2:9-10 (The Message)

This is the first miracle of Jesus, the first glimpse of his glory as the scriptures have it, and what does he do? He delivers 180 gallons of wine (six jars, times 30 gallons...). About 682 liters, or 908 bottles of wine. Wait, WHAT? 908?! This is absurd. As John Eldredge points out in Beautiful Outlaw, "Jesus doesn't just give them a little wine, say a dozen bottles to wrap up the evening with a toast. He does it lavishly. Generously. Extravagantly. To the tune of 908 bottles." 

What does this say about Jesus? What does this reveal about his heart? He is extravagantly generous. He is approachable. Most importantly it reveals his own love for great things, like the celebration of a wedding reception. Jesus more or less says, 'STAY! Let the good times roll!'

Now it pains me greatly that I even have to type this, but for you ultra religious folks who are deeply disturbed about your saviors behavior.....I am not advocating or encouraging we all go out and do keg stands till we fall over. Nor am I advocating or encouraging we chug a fifth of tequila until we black out (and neither is he). I am simply telling you about the personality of Jesus, telling you about his heart toward a great party, that has essentially been 'party pooped'. This is our savior, whether he follows the 'rules' of your church or not. 

So if Samantha and I's reception does run into rough water, I personally will ask Jesus to deliver 908 bottles of wine so our joyous celebration could continue. Or even better. 908 bottles of Jack Daniels. 

What If?

What If??

What if can be a question that haunts us the rest of our lives, filled with regret, loss, and sorrow. What if I would have taken a risk in my career path? What if I would have just asked her out? What if I would have answered the phone? What if I would have known my biological parents? What if I would have just checked Brown 84 earlier in the Class 4 State semifinal and threw a potential game winning touchdown to my best friend #80? (Yep, I still think about this. I'd be more than willing to partake in a rematch, ya damn Webbies) What if cancer wasn't real? What if Grandpa didn't take his own life? What if I tried just one more time?What if I chose a different major? What if I never find true love? What if life never does turn out the way I dreamed?..

What if? What if is a question I have been asking myself a lot lately. I've learned in some instances it can be a great question to ask. It can be a question bursting with potential, full of mystery. Most importantly, it can be a question that awakens great hope and desire within us. What if I find my dream job? What if we find true love? What if Alex Smith resurrects the Kansas City Chiefs? (I'm already talkin PLAYOFFFFS???!) What if our hard work pays off? What if we cured cancer? What if God really does love us? What if we get to go on that extravagant vacation? What if the 16 finally beats the 1 seed in March? What if we really did live life to the fullest?

You know the drill, the What If's go on and on. There are plenty of What Ifs in our lives, and they can bring our hearts a variety of messages. It's my personal experience that the messages of our What If's have potential to drastically change our lives. Focusing on the regret filled What If's of our days, will simply cause us to lose the heart we desperately need to believe in the What If's that make our souls leap for joy.

I reckon I'll share with you all some of my very favorite What If's. The questions in my own life that bring me great joy and inspire me to keep pursuing a full life. I do this in hopes that you would find your own favorite What If's, and in doing so that you too would find great joy and life to the full.

So here's to forgetting about the What If's that break our hearts to pieces, and embracing the ones that put them back together.