And They WON!

I can hardly believe it (nor can the rest of the world), but the USA actually beat Spain (ranked #1) in the Confederations Cup semi-final! Yay for the underdog!

My kids asked this morning at breakfast, "If the USA is not as good as Spain, then how come they won?" Dan replied (and this is one of the reasons I absolutely love my husband), "It doesn't matter how the teams played in the past or what their rankings were. What matters is how they played THIS game."

I was sitting at the breakfast table, barely awake, but it dawned on me - life's like that as well. We sometimes carry our past like an embarrassing burden or the "ranking" of labels - failure, alcoholic, drug addict, divorcée, stupid - but you know what? It really doesn't matter what happened yesterday. What matters are the choices you make THIS day.

We're all underdogs in some way or another, but God doesn't see us that way. "I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with loving-kindness. I will build you up again..." - Jeremiah 31:3-4

And now... I'm going to root for South Africa, who are playing Brazil in the other semi-final. Go, Bafana Bafana! Ke Nako!

Rooting for the Underdog

In a bizarre twist of fate, South Africa and USA are both playing in the Confederations Cup semi-finals. The two least likely teams have come up from behind and.... my mind begins to picture a repeat of the 1980 U.S. Olympic hockey team or the Jamaican bobsled team.

I love rooting for the underdog (maybe that's why I'm a Chicago Cubs fan). When a team/a group/a country rises up against all odds and triumphs - there's something in my heart that wants to burst, like a flower that can't wait to bloom and explode into colour. When a person rises up against all odds and triumphs, that is redemption at its best. God reaches down, finds us with all our pain and our junk, sees something beautiful in us, makes us holy. It's the Jamaican bobsled team all over again, only way better!

I wonder how many people give up too soon, can't see the light at the end of the tunnel, don't see the potential lying hidden within them? To you I say, HANG ON WITH STUBBORN TENACITY!!! If you are an underdog, I am rooting for you!

"Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name, you are Mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze. For I am the LORD your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Saviour." - Isaiah 43:1-3

Stand

"For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armour of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand." - Ephesians 6:12-13

After everything... stand. After the battle with cancer. After the ugly divorce. After the accident. After the death. After the pink slip/retrenchment package. After betrayal and injustice. After the hurt, the sleepless nights, the moments when you cried out in desperation and anger at a God Whom you doubted.

Forgive the cliché, but life is quite the battle. And when we stand our ground and fight, we can still get beaten up and bloodied, crawling back to our homes, our safe places, our havens. But sometimes there is no safe place. Sometimes we can barely move. Sometimes we lose all hope.

But after everything... stand. Encouragement comes. Hope dawns. Unexpected love touches us when we have given up. God bends down, lifts our chins, tends our wounds, helps us to our feet. And we stand.

We stand in the strength that is not ours, but in the God who sustained all those who fought before us. We stand in the hope that God will lead us to victory. We stand in faith that the battle is not in vain, but that lives are at stake and worth fighting for. We stand because for reasons unbeknownst to us, God actually loves us and thinks we're beautiful.

And that changes everything.

A Random Moment

It's Confederations Cup time here in South Africa, and Dan and I decided to take the kids to the USA/Brazil game, because if you can watch one of the best soccer teams in the world beat the pants off your home country's team for less than the cost of going to the movies, why not?

I don't know why, but South Africa is crazy about the Brazilian team, which was all the more reason to go and be among the few USA supporters, in our opinion. On our way into the stadium, we saw a few other USA fans and asked if we could take our picture with them (who else would be wearing red, white and blue, and carrying a life-size cardboard cutout of Barack Obama??) .

Sometimes the most random moments in life are the most memorable. ("Hey, honey? Remember that time you had your picture taken with a cardboard cutout of Obama at the rugby stadium in Pretoria? Those were the good old days..." "Yes, dear, but if the USA had just scored one goal - ONE GOAL - it would have been even better.")

Bargaining Madness

Bargaining is not for the faint of heart. I am just not good at it. Never mind the fact that I am not a shopper, never mind the fact that I am horrible at negotiating. It is being accosted by craft stall owners trying to sell their wares that gets to me. I have learned that the best way to bargain is to subtly let Dan know what I want, and let him do the work.

Today we took a team from our home church in California over to Hartbeespoort Dam to do some shopping. I needed to get a wedding gift for some people back home, so I asked Dan to do my dirty work. In the process, I lost him. I looked everywhere for him, and despite the fact that redheads stick out in South Africa, I still couldn't find him!

About this time Dan phoned me on my cell phone, asking me where I was. "Well...I'm at the stall with all the wooden carvings." This was not helpful, because there are hundreds of identical stalls, but what was I supposed to say? So I tried another tactic: "I'm at the stall near the entrance with the giant giraffe carving."

Suddenly five craft stall workers were in my face. "Giraffe? You want a giraffe? I will give you a special price, madam, just for you."

(HELP!!!!! Dan, where are you???)

A Sneak Peak at the Ending

"I wept and wept because no one was found who was worthy to open the scroll or look inside. Then one of the elders said to me, 'Do not weep! See, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has triumphed.' " - Revelation 5:4-5

It is good to know that, no matter what is going on, no matter what challenges you face, no matter how sad you are, in the end, God wins.

A Funny Sign

Translation: If you get maimed, it's your own fault.