since i retired from teaching in may 2010, i really haven't missed it much - not the work or the stuff or the school in general. i feel confident in the decision that GOD led me to make in leaving dca to stay home with my family. i do miss people though & have talked, blogged, & shared about that with many...but i just realized last week that there is one thing that i do miss terribly, and that is joe patterson...field.
joe is not a person - in this case. joe is the stadium field where dca plays all of their home football games. it is named for joe patterson, a former coach & contributor to the wildcat football program. but for 15 years this field was "home" to me & the band i led. most people can grasp that a football player or coach can become attached in a very personal & emotional way to their home field. i believe the band can as well...& i am certain that the director can.
i miss the grass & the fact that as much time & energy as they spend to make it look fantastic, it still has some weathered & worn spots because it's on a flood plain. i love how it looks under the lights at night, but i am equally in awe at how it looks in the middle of a school day - when it's peaceful & quiet...like the field of battle before the fight. i love the blue bleachers, the brick, & the newer stone walls. i love that the press box is on the wrong side...for real, it's over with the visitors. :) i love the way it smells - always like fresh spring grass after the rain...even when it's dry or cold.
but what i love the most about joe are all of the memories that flood my mind when i walk in - or even drive by. i led the band onto that field to perform at least 100 times...every time was not an epic memory, but there was the first time ever & the last; the first game after 9/11; the one we played in the hurricane; & the homecoming games where we played "endless love" - endlessly. there were some fantastic wins & some devastating losses. some of the most phenomenal (SUPERIOR) performances by the band were on this field - because there's no pressure; you're playing at home. and because of these memories, and many more, coach goodwin allowed chris & i to renew our vows on this field for our 15th wedding anniversary (to the band playing "endless love"...of course).
so as i read through this list, i ponder whether i actually do miss all of this...but i don't think that's it. what i've realized, or the revelation here, is that i will always remember these amazing times - whenever i get to visit joe.
i am currently involved in a women's bible study by angela thomas. i have learned so much & enjoy the dvd "messages" each week. but this past week, angela made a point that has continued to run through my mind all week. she re-told the ancient account of the exodus of the israelites. permit me to recap:
so GOD's people are in bondage to the egyptians & moses is told - by GOD - to go to pharaoh & ask him to release the israelites. pharaoh is not keen on this idea (because GOD has "hardened his heart" - ex. 7. 3) and says "no"...multiple times. cue various plagues - water turns to blood, frogs everywhere, gnats everywhere, flies everywhere, all egyptian livestock dies, boils on man & livestock, hail, locusts everywhere, every first born of egyptian people & livestock killed. and now, pharaoh says "get out!" so the israelites prepare to leave. but they don't just flee, they pack up their food & supplies and even "plundered the egyptians" taking "whatever they asked for" (ex. 12.36). so they are now loaded down with food, herds, gold, silver, all sorts of supplies, etc. - wildly blessed. they praise GOD for this deliverance.
however, within a very short amount of time they find themselves in a predicament. they are on the edge of the red sea. this situation wouldn't have been so menacing except for that now pharaoh has decided that he shouldn't have let them go & is pursuing them with his entire army on horses & chariots. now GOD's people are faced with a crisis: giant body of water in front, pharaoh's army behind...their natural response is "hey moses, were there just not enough graves in egypt that you had to bring us out here to die?" (ex. 14.11 - my paraphrase) but moses responds with a solid affirmation of faith: "do not be afraid. stand firm and you will see the deliverance the LORD will bring you today." (ex. 14.13)
ok, so if you've heard the story before, you already know what GOD is about to do. HE's going to show up BIG & part the sea. literally. the israelites will walk across on "dry land" with walls of water on each side. that's crazy! sometimes i think we forget how AWESOME this is. but here's where angela's point floored me. she said "i am pretty sure that as the israelites are standing at the edge, worrying, fretting, & trying to figure this out, not one of them thought 'if GOD would just part the sea, then we could walk across'". this didn't even cross their minds! would you have thought it up? you see, they were scared & nervous & unsure about their future. they know they can't get across the sea on their own & they stand no chance against the egyptian army. so i imagine them standing there trying to figure out a way that GOD could save them - like we do so often. "maybe if we could get some of these supplies that GOD allowed us to take from egypt & fashion some sort of bridge..." "maybe we could split up & start heading around sea, ya know, do something to distract the egyptian army..." they were probably even praying something like "GOD, help us to build this bridge so we can get away from certain death."
but you see, moses told them "do not be afraid. stand firm & you will see the deliverance of the LORD". i think that so many times i come up with ways that GOD can deliver me from the crisis' in my life. i give HIM options...how ridiculous is that? instead, i believe that HE is saying "stop fretting & trying to figure it all out. stand firm, beloved & watch me show up in a way that you could never even imagine!"
since my GOD can part the red sea, i know that HE can do something BIG in my life today! so i will stand firm.
for most of my adult life, if a friend or acquaintance said that they were running a marathon, i thought "wow! big stuff! pretty cool. good for you." i knew that it was a significant distance, but it honestly seemed inconceivable.
so i have identical twin sisters & they are both crazy into fitness & such. malia is into some kind of insane cross-fit, lift ridiculous amounts of weights & then army craw in the mud for a mile...or something like that, workout plan. mick's fitness is more "traditional". she has been my inspiration for running, but is also a cyclist & swimmer. so last week, mick states that she is going to participate in an "iron man" - that is swim 2.4 miles, bike 112 miles, and then run 26.2 miles (a marathon). as these numbers & the idea of these tasks are circling in my brain, i realize that of the 3 events, the running of the marathon is what makes me think my sister has lost her sweet mind. why? a 2.4 mile swim sounds crazy. a 112 mile bike ride is preposterous. but a 26.2 mile run...now that's UNBELIEVABLE!
see, because i have virtually zero experience biking or swimming, these 2 tasks seem almost fictional to me. it's like saying to me that you're going to fly a rocket to the moon. i totally believe it can be done & i assume that you know how to fly a rocket & have practiced this skill. i mean, the moon is really far away (238,857 miles), but if you know how to fly the rocket, my mind can comprehend you doing it. now, here's where i find myself...since i've been running, i understand what it takes to run 3 miles - which is about my max right now. so when my sister adds at the end of her crazy list "run 26.2 miles", it's like saying she's going to drive her car to the moon. it's impossible! i understand what it takes to drive a car. and i understand the distance to the moon in relation to the distances i drive everyday. and i am amazed! at my current rate of 3 miles a day, it would take me 8.73 days to finish a marathon! well, hopefully my rate & pace will increase, but right now, for me, running 26.2 miles is like driving to the moon.
honestly, not sure what the point is here...it's just what i'm thinking.
