Just One Second

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!