Just “One Second”
If you live and breathe in the state of Alabama I bet you think you
know where this is going. Well, you are partially right. Just one second. This
afternoon’s Iron Bowl came down to just one second. Who in the world would have
ever known that the game, “THE” game would have ever been so intense and
heart-attack inducing in the last minute or so of the game, let alone the last
second?
Well, I certainly did not! At my sister’s home with all the other SEC
fans you could hear the excitement grow (literally, I bet you heard us) as time
ticked downward. There are many Bama fans and Auburn fans and we always manage
to keep things clean and classy each year as we (on separate floors of her home
of course) cheer on our own teams. Each year we sincerely congratulate each
other and we have always sincerely cheered on the National Championship teams
as we are all proud of our state as a whole.
So, is this about the ONE SECOND left in the Iron Bowl today? Sort of.
It was amazing, I’ll admit. I am a Tiger fan, no doubt. I will say that without
the Tide, the Tigers wouldn’t fight so hard. We make each other better, no
doubt, both ways. But this is about one second. Seriously, not football so
much, but one second. If it were about football you would all be laughing
because you would realize how little I know about the game itself.
One second. I have already talked to a couple of amazing friends who
cheer as fervently for Bama as I do for Auburn. They were very sincere and
classy in their congratulations for Auburn’s win. With one friend, who has counseled as well, I
said “I have to get deep here for a moment… I see this ‘one second’ as so much
more than a football thing” and went on to share with her how I see this as a
total game changer.
Now, insert my disclaimer, I am not saying that God won or lost the
game for anyone. I am not saying that He removed or put back any amount of time
on the clock. I am saying that God is a timeless God. You see, this afternoon
when there was one second left on the clock and Alabama was going in for the
kick, I purposefully turned my back to the tv and played with my niece. I didn’t
want to watch. I thought either they get it and we lose, or they don’t and we
have overtime. There. I had it figured out. My sister may have been hiding
behind the couch at that point, I’m not sure, we get pretty intense. But then,
I hear screaming….and I turn, and I see Davis run the ball completely down the
field for a win. Touchdown Auburn. One second. Who in the world would’ve
thought that? Who would have predicted THAT? I don’t care how many people say
that saw it coming, no one did!
How does that relate to God for me? We sit on the sidelines watching
our lives play out on the field, day in and day out. We know the plays. We may
even have the play book in our hand. We know our financial troubles. We know
how many times we have tried to have children. We know how many times we have
talked to our child about drugs, alcohol, and the dangers of how they may be
living. We know how lonely we feel every time a holiday rolls around. We KNOW
this game. We see the clock tick down. We know what’s about to happen and we
turn our backs on the field, or the tv, or the play because WE KNOW how this is
going to go down. WE know what’s going to happen. We’ve seen it. We’ve lived
it. We’re tired of it. We’re done.
Then, one second. In one second there is someone there to take the
ball and run it and take our breath away with a play that we never even
imagined possible. There is someone there who says “You may have the play book,
but I am on the field!” and our lives are changed in one second (again, please,
I am not talking about the Iron Bowl). There is God there saying “You think you
have it figured out, but I am a God who has no time and am in no hurry.” One
second.
What does one second mean to you? Maybe you have seen a miracle in one
second? One second may have kept you from an automobile accident. One second to
getting to the emergency room. One second may have helped you meet that person
you are now with. One second to tell someone that you love them before they go.
I know people whose lives have changed in one second. God can do that and I
believe He LOVES to do that!
So, it was a good game today, to say the least. But let’s take away
something more than a win. Let’s remember that one second is an amazing amount
of time for a timeless God. Let’s remember that when God says “Wait a second” We
really should be patient and trust that He knows what He’s doing here. One
Second. Please, God, be my guest.
Becky
November 30, 2013
P.S. My mom just called from “the bus” on her way back to her car in
Auburn. She’ll be running on adrenalin for a week!
