October 18th, 2021
Today’s devotion is compliments of Leigh McElroy (http://www.leighmcleroy.com/).
(This was written after the college football game on October 16, 2021, when Texas A&M beat the favored team from Alabama.)
____________________
Just in case you hate football (or Aggies) let me say up front this is not about either. Not really. This is about how good--really, really good--it feels to have fun. To remember what joy is like when it's shared by a big, wide community in a giant dose. And I just want to say, it was good. Good for my heart. Good right down to my bones. Dead-solid-perfect good.
This past weekend I spent a little over 24 hours with friends I love, in a place I love, doing something I love. and it was fun. So much fun.
I listened to music full of memories and sang along for miles. I walked a place that still feels like home to me, and witnessed it afresh through the eyes of a new friend who'd never seen any of it before. I remembered the ways my faith was formed there, and thanked God for the dear ones who had a hand in that. (Are you reading this, Mary Hill? Betty Collier? Lorie Scott Roark?) I sank deep into laughter and good conversation and shared meals and new stories. I screamed and danced and whooped along with 106,815 (minus a small, disappointed few) others who came expecting a whipping for their beloved boys in maroon, but instead saw the most improbable, crazy, unanticipated win in ages.
Y'all ... we had fun. And I don't think God minded one bit. In fact, I'm pretty sure He smiled too. In a season heavy with sadness for so many reasons, for a little while we didn't think of our sorrows at all. We just had fun.
What ordinary, everyday thing gives you joy? Could you sneak it in today? Could you sing along to a song you love, or dance in your living room, or smile at a stranger or hug someone you adore for more than a second or two? Because even now we have things to celebrate, and by God's grace there is more good to come. Far, far more. And forever.
At the end of the day last Saturday (actually it was more like early morning Sunday), I whispered these words before I fell asleep: Thank you, God. Thank you! We had so much fun.
Amen?
- Leigh McElroy
(This was written after the college football game on October 16, 2021, when Texas A&M beat the favored team from Alabama.)
____________________
Just in case you hate football (or Aggies) let me say up front this is not about either. Not really. This is about how good--really, really good--it feels to have fun. To remember what joy is like when it's shared by a big, wide community in a giant dose. And I just want to say, it was good. Good for my heart. Good right down to my bones. Dead-solid-perfect good.
This past weekend I spent a little over 24 hours with friends I love, in a place I love, doing something I love. and it was fun. So much fun.
I listened to music full of memories and sang along for miles. I walked a place that still feels like home to me, and witnessed it afresh through the eyes of a new friend who'd never seen any of it before. I remembered the ways my faith was formed there, and thanked God for the dear ones who had a hand in that. (Are you reading this, Mary Hill? Betty Collier? Lorie Scott Roark?) I sank deep into laughter and good conversation and shared meals and new stories. I screamed and danced and whooped along with 106,815 (minus a small, disappointed few) others who came expecting a whipping for their beloved boys in maroon, but instead saw the most improbable, crazy, unanticipated win in ages.
Y'all ... we had fun. And I don't think God minded one bit. In fact, I'm pretty sure He smiled too. In a season heavy with sadness for so many reasons, for a little while we didn't think of our sorrows at all. We just had fun.
What ordinary, everyday thing gives you joy? Could you sneak it in today? Could you sing along to a song you love, or dance in your living room, or smile at a stranger or hug someone you adore for more than a second or two? Because even now we have things to celebrate, and by God's grace there is more good to come. Far, far more. And forever.
At the end of the day last Saturday (actually it was more like early morning Sunday), I whispered these words before I fell asleep: Thank you, God. Thank you! We had so much fun.
Amen?
- Leigh McElroy
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