I have been quarantined to my bed for about 3 hours and you would think I had been sick a week. I am just so bad at resting. I honestly tried, but since I don't watch much tv that leads me to read..and when your head hurts reading is no fun. So now I know EVERYTHING you could possibly need to know about the Major League Baseball's Pujol's failed negotiation for a contract, and that Dale Jr crashed at practice today and even though he won the pole he has to start at the back of the pack in a back up car. That is so unfair. And I know that the NFL has been very busy this off season with negotiations. And yes..it is sad that my favorite tv is Sportcenter...especially since my hubby hates sports!
At any rate, I somehow managed to get a couple of fresh words from Sportcenter...(yes that may be even sadder!) the first...franchise tag. It is a term used in the NFL under the quickly expiring labor collective bargaining agreement that indicates you are the player worth the most on the team that has a contract expiring and they have not been able to convince them to stay yet. They pay you a salary equal to the average of the top 5 paid players on your team's roster. And it forces you to not talk to any other teams and remain committed for one year. Each team only has one franchise tag to use per season. This year there are several big name players getting the franchise tag this year...Peyton Manning, Michael Vick to name a couple. I want to get the franchise tag for God's Team. I want Him to see me as so valuable to His offense that He gives me the franchise tag!
The second fresh word is a big word called redemption. In case you don't know, I am an avid football fan. Peyton Manning is my favorite player. Although I admit I have a second player I follow for the last few years. Michael Vick. I watched him when he played for Va Tech and new he would play on Sundays. He was so athletic and gifted. When he started playing for the Atlanta Falcons I was pleased. And then the scandal broke. His role in the dog fighting ring. The shame and disgrace he brought to the NFL and the Atlanta Falcons was monumentous. Disappointment he brought fans like me who saw so much God given talent...wasted on a thug. Financially ruined him; friends and family deserted him. He served 2 years in prison and then something amazing happened. He applied to the NFL for reinstatement. Folks talked about him like a dog. They called him what he was...a felon. No one every dreamed the NFL would reinstate him...it was too risky. But they did. Of course the odds of a team taking a chance on him were slim. The Falcons wanted nothing to do with him...and that was their right. Most NFL teams were shying away from the trouble makers. But then Andy Reid from the Philadelphia Eagles did the unthinkable. He hired him as a back up quarterback. Third string quarterback behind Donavan McNabb. A veteran. A very good role model. And Vick did something no one ever imagined...he humbled himself and became a student again. He learned everything he could from McNabb on and off the field. He was mentored by the great, Christian, Tony Dungy. He overcame the most adverse odds and is back to his best. Have people forgotten what he did...nope. Does he face it head on daily...yep. But does he let it rule his life...nope. He uses it to teach others, young people, about the dog fighting way of life and how to rise above it. He has been redeemed. Given a new chance. Second hope. And I am rooting for him to succeed. What a story!
But I have the same story. Well maybe not the whole dog fighting, been in prison, NFL Superstar story...but I have been redeemed too. I have been given a second chance. Jesus paid the price for my salvation so that I do not have to dwell on past sin and mistakes. I can face each day humbly as His redeemed child. And my future is guaranteed to be a success because at the end of the age...I am heaven bound! Praise Him!!!
One of my memory verses from a couple years ago was from Job 19:25 "I know that my Redeemer lives and that in the end he will stand upon the earth". Amen.
Resting in Him,
Kristy =)
Kristy,
ReplyDeleteSo here's a true confession. Somehow I missed your quiet as a mouse post and then receive this one in my inbox to read. When I glanced at it on Wednesday, I will be honest and tell you that I saw it was about sports and I skipped it. (Sorry) So this morning I am up early and can't sleep and I decided to check my email and clean out my inbox - then I saw the quiet as a mouse post. I didn't even know you were sick. SORRY X 2 Hope you feel better! Anyway I read that post then here was this one sitting there that I hadn't read and I felt bad as one of your loyal 2 followers ; ) that I didn't read it. So I Read It - sports stuff and all. WOW - what a great story. You know it doesn't matter the sin or the circumstance Redeemed is just that redeemed. God forgives and forgets when we confess and believe. I truly believe that even the strongest christian sits on the edge of sin every day. Yes, narrow is that path and woe to anyone who points fingers at those not on it. I have thought alot about the song "East to West" lately with Pastor Billie's messages, our Walking with Jesus class last Saturday and even an indepth conversation I had a work with some coworkers over this very subject. It's words are echoing in my mind and heart this week. I don't want to end up where He found me. Thanks for posting this story. Yes, Thanks; otherwise I would have never gotten the encouragement from his life story cause I definitely don't watch ESPN.