Phases

The moving finger writes and, having writ, moves on. Nor all thy piety nor wit shall lure it back to cancel half a line, nor all they tears wash out a word of it.

-  The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam

As I look back over my life so far, a big thing I notice is that it is not one long, continuous story. Yours isn't either, is it? There are definite phases, periods of time where there were specific things God wanted to do for or through me in very specific ways. Some transitions were easy to see (like graduations) and others I can only tell looking back. And really the breaks are often muddy. But a few that seem obvious looking back:

• My decision to follow Jesus in 7th grade,
• High school graduation,
• College graduation,
• Beginning my first job as a teacher,
• Beginning my career at Alfa,
• My sister's accident in 1996, 
• My mom's passing...

And so on. In addition, there are friends that move in and out of your life, and others that last and last through all seasons. I have a friend who has pointed out to me that this part of God's perfect design - some he wants to use during a season of your life and others become like family for life.

Am I rambling yet? Let me stop. Here's where this is all coming from: big changes seem to be happening for people who are close to me. I have a niece graduating from college and others who will have to adjust to the fact that she has graduated. My good friend (practically a brother) had a daughter move off to college out of town this fall. Two pairs of friends both had a third child within the last few weeks - causing child raising to shift from man-to-man to zone.

And on it goes.

Here are two things I want to say if any of these friends and family happen to read this:

1. The end of a phase may seem sad, but I have found each phase to be better than the one before it. Yes, it is painful to leave people and things behind...incredibly so. At those times, it is probably true that things won't ever be the same again. But I would not trade my life for anything. Why? Because God has used every one of those experiences to draw me closer to him and help me see my purpose in life. There is no point in regret. No matter how I got here, I am more excited about the future than I have ever been!
2. Those phases move awfully fast. Treasure each one of them...each day, each hour, each minute. The Bible is right when it tells us that our life is like a vapor. Trust me on this, my younger friends and family, it only moves faster. Don't wish you life away...live it!

Here's how Five for Fighting said it:

I'm blessed to know all of you. I look forward to the rest of the journey. Every phase.

32 days....

Roll Tide

One for the ages

The Crimson Tide of Alabama now has SEC Championship #23. And it's on the a quest for National Championship #15. But it was not without a "dawgfight." A few weeks ago, I wrote about the LSU game and tried to put it in perspective with the best Bama games I have been blessed to attend. I was not wrong - it was an amazing game and contained that one moment you can look back on if you win a championship. But what I saw Saturday night..well, it was at another level. Let me explain...but first, let's take a moment to enjoy the key moment:



So I've been asking myself, "What makes this one so special?" At the risk of overanalyzing, I've come up with this: All the great games on my list contain at least some key elements that make a game memorable. Elements like:

• An exciting finish, with the outcome in doubt until the final horn,
• Tremendous intensity from both sides throughout the course of the game,
• A handful of plays from both sides that were turning points,
• Multiple changes in momentum,
• A refuse-to-lose mentality from both teams,
• High stakes, and
• A packed house and an amazing atmosphere from the the fans.

As I look back on all the games I've attended, a few stand out - as I mentioned in the previously linked post. But as I looked over the list, I noticed that most of them were amazing because of some of the items on this list. For example, the 1985 Georgia game had everything except the high stakes - there were no championships on the line. Or the 2009 SEC Championship Game:  it had the high stakes and will always be a wonderful memory as a Bama fan, but Florida did not do their part to make it an all round classic like this one.

But this one...wow! Everything on that list - everything! - was there. Back and forth, back and forth. Big plays. Turning points. Teams in the brink of disaster but somehow rising up to fight again. A finish that will be talked about for decades. And stakes up there with the highest - the championship of the sport's best conference and a chance to play for the big prize.

And finally, one of the best examples of mutual respect I've ever seen between two fan bases.

What a day! Roll Tide! And, because they earned it...Go Dawgs!

40 hours from now...

Alabama.
Georgia.
One goal...the championship of the nation's best conference.

"Go teach the Bulldogs to behave..."



Let's get #23. Roll Tide!