Keeping Perspective

It should have been a great day, but it wasn’t.

I was visiting my son and my future daughter-in-law in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. I got to see their new house; we went to a great concert; and on a lark, we decided to see our beloved Oklahoma Sooners play the Texas Christian University Horned Frogs. What a great idea: we hadn’t been to an OU game together in years. It would be Beth’s first OU football game.

It was a complete disaster.

Parking was a nightmare; it took us forever to find a place, which made us late to get in the stadium. I didn’t remember to use sunscreen and got a nasty sunburn. Our quarterback was knocked out by a vicious cheap shot, and our defense couldn’t stop a high school team.

At half-time with the game long over, we threw in the towel and started to make the long walk back to the car. I was hot, hungry, thirsty and depressed. My mood wasn’t helped by some “classy” jibes we received from TCU fans as we left the stadium.

As much as I love sports, I often hate the importance I give it. It took me a while to figure it out, but I’ve discovered that sports was a way for an angry kid from a dysfunctional family to experience victory. Even now, sports is still my release for all the things that I’m holding inside. I know it’s silly, but I fear I’m too old to change as much as I would like.

Holly and Paula regularly remind us to be grateful for what we have. My head knows they are right, but my heart has some catching up to do. It has been a tough few years, which makes it easier to fall back on bad habits. When things are tough, I try to find opportunities to put out some good in the world.

Fortunately, I saw a chance that day. As we walked back to the car, we ran across a Ukrainian man trying to raise some money for families in his native land. It felt good to help someone in need, to recognize the world is bigger than my Sooners, my inconveniences – even my impending divorce.

I pray that I can continue to see the big picture in the future.