We are a football loving family! Pretty much if you stopped by our house on a Saturday or Sunday football would be on…and these days it could be on ANY night! Our kids have no choice but to watch it! Thankfully both kids enjoy it and it has been so fun this year, especially, to see Mason love watching it so much.
However, we are seeing a little problem with his new found love of watching football…he is not a loyal fan! Yes, I have a fair-weather fan on my hands! Oh, what this does to this loyal mamas heart!!
He cheers for who is winning!
If the winning team becomes the losing team…he switches who he is cheering for and no longer cheers for the team he was pulling for! I am totally fine with him cheering for whatever team he likes, he doesn’t have to like the teams we do, but I just want him to be loyal to whatever team he is a fan of! Is that too much to ask?!?
Ok, yes, I know he is 5, and I am not too worried or concerned because he is a kind boy with a big heart so I think he will be loyal one day. It did get me thinking though.
Sadly, a growing number of people these days are “5-year-old football fans.” They love it when you are winning! The are there when things are going great in your life, when you get good news, when you are over the top with joy due to blessings that have come your way, and when you are at a point in your life that you don’t need as much support or encouragement.
Don’t get me wrong and let me make myself clear…. even during this time of “winning” support is still needed! They need encouragement, they need others to share in their joy and truly be happy for them when they are “winning” because a friend like this can also be hard to find too…. but that is a different blog post for a different day!
When your “team” is down, it needs its fans.
The players need to look up and see fans that say, ‘we are still here’. We are still here cheering you on and we are not leaving no matter how bad it gets! Yes, you have been knocked down, but we are staying!
Guys…. People need this too!
They need to know you are still there. That you haven’t forgotten about them. That you are still cheering them on. That you haven’t left to go with another “team” that is winning because you yourself just can’t handle the loss.
Hard times bring out the loyal fans. They bring out those who care enough to be uncomfortable with the pain and hurt. People talk about loyalty all the time, but LOYALTY is not a word it is a lifestyle.
Show your “team” you are loyal even if you are the only person left in the stands. Even if it is -10 degrees, sleeting and you can’t feel your fingers or your toes! Your team is out there in the same condition, but the difference is they are not just watching…. they are experiencing the loss.
It is not always easy to be the loyal one.
It is not always easy and definitely not fun to show up again and again and watch your team be defeated, but just for a moment try and put yourself in your “teams” shoes. How does that feel to go through what they are going through and then to look up and see all of those you thought were your fans/friends be gone?
Proverbs 20:6 (NLT) says, ‘many will say they are loyal friends, but who can find one who is truly reliable.’
As this football season continues let me encourage you to be loyal. (I am speaking these same words to myself too!) Be loyal to your “team,” win or lose. They need you more than you know! And who knows…even if they start out with a huge loss, this could be their season of miraculous combacks! Those are the seasons that will stay with you forever.
Leave a Reply