It seems like this blog tends to
revolve around unfortunate accidents I’ve experienced throughout my
lifetime. I don’t know why that is except
for the fact that I’ve had plenty of accidents related to my not so smart
decision making process.
For whatever the reasons, these
experiences are part of my life and have forged me into who I am. I guess I’ve just had to learn some lessons
the hard way – especially in my younger years.
Today I want to recall an event which
happened when I was probably only about 6-7 years old. We still lived in Bishop, California at that
time in my life, which was a smaller town near the foothills of the Sierra
Nevada Mountain range.
One summer day, my Mom and Dad
informed my older brother and me that they were going to run into town for a
few errands and leave us home alone for an hour or so. I don’t recall specifically, but I’m sure my
knowing mother probably warned me to, “Stay out of trouble!”
Being the budding genius that I was, I
somehow concocted what I thought would be an incredibly funny prank to pull on
my parents. As they were going out the
back door through the kitchen, which led out toward the garage and driveway, I
quickly snuck out the front door and ran around behind the pick-up truck.
Climbing up onto the back bumper and
holding onto the tailgate, I crouched down low so that I would be hidden from
view from within the cab where my parents would be sitting. Sure enough, my parents were oblivious to my
presence as they crawled into the truck and backed out onto the street in front
of our home.
With the wind swishing through my
hair, I chuckled in delight at the prank I was going to pull on them as my
father put the truck into drive and headed down towards town. My hilarious plan was this: once my parents
pulled up to the stop sign about 2 blocks away from our house, I would stand up
on the back bumper and yell “Surprise!” or some other crazy phrase, they would
be shocked as to how I had appeared there, and then I would hop off the back
and run back home laughing all the way.
What my little brain had failed to make
contingency plans for was the fact that my dad did not to come to a complete
stop when he reached the intersection!
Instead he simply slowed down a bit, and seeing no one was coming proceeded
right on through!
A wave of panic came over me as I
realized my dilemma, which must have clouded my reasoning further than it
already was, because instead of standing up and announcing my presence so I
could get their attention and stop… I decided I would get in less trouble if I
simply hopped off the back and ran home completely unnoticed.
Being only in 1st or 2nd
grade, my comprehension of the laws of physics wasn’t quite up to the speed
with the acceleration of the pick-up.
You know that basic law of physics which says, “A body in motion tends
to stay in motion, until it is acted upon by an equal or opposite force” or
something like that.
Well, as I hopped off the back of the
tailgate and extended my legs below me to land on the ground an interesting
thing happened that I had not expected.
I was the body in motion that was still traveling at the speed of the
truck and the resisting force below me was the stationary hot paved gravel
street.
As my sneakers hit the road, I slapped
down and skidded forward through the far end of the intersection, tumbling in
my shorts and tank top. I put my hands
forward to catch myself, which only churned them into hamburger along with my
knees, shoulders, forehead and one of my cheeks.
As my parents sped off oblivious into
town, I was left to gather up my torn and bloodied carcass, and had to hobble
the two blocks home sobbing hysterically.
When my parents returned home an hour
or so later my parents were, needless to say, shocked at my appearance and even
more bewildered at my story as to how it happened, I’m sure they considered
once again how they were so blessed to have me as their son!
So where am I going with this
completely true tale today… one that involves silly jumping on and off a truck?
Well, with the College football bowl
games just recently completed, the NFL playoffs and SuperBowl quickly
approaching, and college and NBA basketball in full swing, I got thinking about
what it means to be a “Fan” along with the concept of fans “Jumping on the
bandwagon” or “jumping off the bandwagon” when things are going wither well or poorly
for their team.
Fans that jump on and off the
bandwagon are usually referred to as “fair-weather fans” because they aren’t
really committed to actually supporting their team unless things are going
well. Once the trouble starts, they jump
off the bandwagon like rats off a sinking ship.
Then, of course, there are the “Die-hard
fans”. These are the folks who live and
die with their team’s triumphs and defeats.
They are the true fanatics whose lives and actions often revolve around
the upcoming game schedule.
I grew up in a household where my
father and his sons were die-hard BYU fans!
My dad actually has a special room in the back of his house, which he calls the "Cougar Den, which is plastered
with BYU paraphernalia and a big TV where we gather to watch the games together
and either celebrate the victories or console each other in defeat.
My Dad even has a big BYU flag he raises up
his pole on game days, and if the Cougars loose, he lowers it to half-staff for
a few days to warn the neighbors they better not come by because he’s in a bad
mood. Luckily, my sweet wife has been
tolerant and supportive of this harmless vice throughout our marriage as well.
One day, as I returned home from my
dad’s following a disappointing BYU football loss, I was thinking about having
to rally my spirits to get back into a positive mood so I could go to Church the
next day and with a positive attitude. My
son noted my despondency and commented to me, “Dad, you’re a true die-hard fan.”
Something clicked when he said that
phrase and I was thinking about the church lesson I had to teach the next
day. It was the phrase “Die-hard”. I got thinking about why it was that I stuck
with and supported a team that was far from perfect, experienced frequent and regular
struggles, hardships and frustrations.
In context of my Sunday church
thoughts, it hit me… I thought about the ultimate and very truly literal “Die-Hard”
fan of all time, Jesus Christ! Here was
a completely devoted and 100% committed being, who came to this earth because
of His utter love and support for us! He
was the ultimate fan of the human team of which you and I are all players, and
literally “Died Hard” through the suffering of His Atoning suffering in Gethsemane...
His Crucifixion...
and
raising triumphantly from the tomb through the power of the resurrection…
As I think about this along with the
memory of jumping off the bandwagon (back of my dad’s truck) as a child. I am humbled and grateful that my ultimate
die-hard fan and Savior has consistently been there for me throughout my life
of struggles and injuries!
He is never “fair weather”, but is always
there for each and every one of us as our biggest fan and most committed
supporter! He consistently cheers on our
successes and mourns with us in our moments of loss and discouragement! He never falters or wavers in his love and
devotion which calls us to rise up through His strength, and beckon us forward to
try yet again to be a better person each day, no matter what may have happened
the day before.
He helps to bind up and heal our
wounds, whether emotional, psychological or otherwise, and provides us the
ability to continue on in the game of life until it is finally finished. And I know that when the game of mortality is
finally done, if we have been faithful despite our frailties, He will be the
One waiting to embrace us and congratulate us on a game well played and welcome
us into His room of eternal celebration and joy!
May we always be grateful for our biggest fan and turn to Him when life’s losses come. I believe those struggles and trials are there to remind us to turn to Him when all other fair-weather fans may have jumped off our bandwagons. He is always there and always will be!
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