World Cup Recap: A Poem to Numb the Pain

"A pitch in South America, the Germans came to play.
But no one told the home team they should show up on that day.
A goal! A second! Once again! And then again two more!
Before the half it was a laugh. The second was a snore.They had excuses. "This guy's hurt. And that one has the flu.

"The Germans are all robots! There was nothing we could do!"
The home crowd wept, they gnashed their teeth, and then did fall a hush.
For Germany had made, mit schnell, the Brazilian nation blush.

America looked on, bemused, the total deconstruction,
Of Germany's immense assault, and Brazil's spare production.

It was surreal....completely not possible....and yet it happened right before my unprepared eyes.  

The unraveling of Brazil vs. Germany was something that I will never forget.  It was like watching a train wreck in slow motion

I have watched hundreds of soccer games in my life, but I have never seen a game like that.  I hope I never see one like like for any team or any country ever again.  I wouldn't have even wanted Brazil to win like that.  Yet, it happened.  It really did.  The loss of hope was staggering.... This is the kind of impact that will actually probably change the way elections go in the country.

The consolation game vs Netherlands did nothing to boost confidence, in reality it confirmed what was now suspect.  Brazil really sucked!   It will take some serious rebuilding for many years to overcome the psychological damage that was done to this people and nation.  I am an ex-pat and am still struggling and have pushed the "bad ju ju" into the furthest recesses of my mind's memory.  When someone brings it up I actually run and jump with both feet into the pool of Denial and swim as fast as I can.

Overall, it was an excellent World Cup, but it will be forever marred for me.  I had so much hope for Brazil.  Some say, "Dude, get over it.....it is just a game!"  Normally, ok.....I get it.  Not in this case....this is Soccer, this is Brazil and this is The World Cup.

So, here we are, no more tears, no more gnashing, no more energy to wonder why....what do we do when we face failure of absolutely epic proportions?  

It reminds me of a few lines from the famous "Casey at the Bat" from Ernest Thayer:

The sneer is gone from Casey's lip, his teeth are clinched in hate;
He pounds with cruel violence his bat upon the plate.
And now the pitcher holds the ball, and now he lets it go,
And now the air is shattered by the force of Casey's blow.
Oh, somewhere in this favored land the sun is shining bright;
The band is playing somewhere, and somewhere hearts are light,
And somewhere men are laughing, and somewhere children shout;
But there is no joy in Mudville — mighty Casey has struck out

 I believe God loves sports.  I think he loves athletes.  It seems as if He uses sports as a means to teach many life lessons.   In many ways I believe sports is a metaphor for life in general.  There are rules, practice, coaches, a team to support, motivation, skill, desire, heart mind and soul.  The will to win, there is loss and much adversity, even injury.  Sports builds character...especially to those who face loss head on and then pick themselves up and try again.  Really no difference for you and me is there?  Sometimes we think we do things (sin) to such a degree that there is no hope.  We can fall into victim stance, in essence we surrender our agency temporarily.  We think we are at an "end".  But we aren't.  We never are.  There is always another chance, even for us.

This isn't the end of Casey's story either....the rest of the story happens 20 years later when a guy named Grantland Rice returned with "Casey's Revenge":

In his darkest hour, Casey has a chance to redeem himself--another at bat--last inning--against the same pitcher that struck him out.  He has two strikes and everyone thinks he is going to choke again...then:

A whack, a crack, and out through the space the leather pellet flew,A blot against the distant sky, a speck against the blue.

 He hits a home run and Mudville goes crazy!  My experience says that sports fans are forgiving, even in places where sports mean everything to people.  And as Brazil's players try to find themselves again over the next 4 years, they could make this line from Rice's poem their mantra:

The lane is long, some one has said, that never turns again, and Fate, though fickle, often gives another chance to men

I love Brazil with all my heart.... I know this people, they will rebound and they will do the necessary work to overcome.  I am grateful that Heaven is willing to take a chance on me and continues to give me opportunities time after time to get it right..... for the perfect brightness of hope.   

Forca la meu querido Brasil!  Vou ser paciente contigo e sempre sera torcendo ao teu lado.

Doing Hard Things

Every 4 years our  regional Church congregation puts on a pretty amazing even called Pioneer Trek.  They organize about 30 families consisting of:
1.  Ma's and Pa's
2. 10 - 12 kids p/family
3. One handcart
4.  One 5 gallon bucket for each kid

They travel for a few days going over the exact same trails that early Utah pioneers did to instill a sense of historic appreciation of their legacy. They dress up like pioneers (except for the nikes) and have an incredible experience that challenges them physically, emotionally and spiritually.

There were about 30 handcart families this year and they went out to Muddy Creek Wyoming -- site of an authentic Mormon pioneer trail.  They did 3 days of handcart pulling, sleeping in the pouring rain, watching occasional surprise re-enactments of pioneer stories involving actors pretending to be Indians, cowboys and other pioneer leaders with horses illustrating what it might have been like back in the day.  They square danced, they played pioneer games, and pulled handcarts many miles each day.

One particular event is called the "Women's Pull".  All the girls and Ma's all had to pull the handcarts up a hill while the boys and Pa's stood by and watched.  This was to simulate what actually happened in some cases historically as many of the men had to leave their families temporarily to fight with US forces in skirmishes and battles that flared up on the frontier.  Making the men and boys witness the girls struggling to get handcarts up the steep embankment caused quite a bit of emotion.  The urge to jump in and "save" them was pretty strong.  The experience was intended to cause that kind of emotion, empathy, and appreciation for their efforts.  It also did the same for the women--how important it was to have the men helping pull handcarts all those miles.

They didn't starve but went without enough to appreciate what going hungry could mean.  The first night brought a complete horrendous thunder and rain storm.  We were driving up to help with pioneer games on the freeway the night before and could barely see the road.  Totally scary.  We could only imagine what all those families were going through while we were driving. We thought about our kids..... 

We arrived the next morning at the appointed time to help with games hoping we would see our 3 kids.  We were not quite sure what to expect.  We braced ourselves thinking that they might be totally wet and miserable and might not be having as good of an experience. What we encountered was completely the opposite.  Little Lexi came bounding up to me as soon as she recognized me and with the big smile on her face started telling me about the events of the night before.  She was "all in" as they say.  She weathered the storm extremely well.  Then just a few minutes later McKenna came bounding up too!  She was wearing an extraordinary attitude and was on a "natural high".  She had all this zippy zesty energy.  The girls hugged each other and then sat down and immediately started chattering like chipmunks.  I had to take a picture....Their weathered faces framed immensely beautiful smiles!   "Ah...." I said to myself inside.  "They had the experience I was hoping they would have".  They loved that they had to get all soaked and cold and that it was hard.   I saw Braden and he turned.  Oh my, this cowboy thing totally fit him to a "T".  I didn't even need to ask, but of course did.  "How is it going?"  "Could be harder, but it is good."  Braden was ready to chase down a live turkey, kill it and cook it up like they did in early days.  Yep.  The storm barely phased him.  He was ready for alot more, but he made the most of what the program offered which was great.

Doing hard things..... How important is that for all of us?  What about doing hard things well?  It is a difficult thing in this day and age to manufacture experiences that teach youth how to do hard things period, much less to do them well.  The proverbial farm that we used to be able to send our kids to during the summer doesn't really exist anymore.  There are a few here and there, but things have changed. 

Trek is one of those true blue experiences where they can learn the lessons of doing some very hard things.....if they are willing.   It only comes around every 4 years so we are so grateful for those that put this program on and for kids that want to have that stretch..... the desire to grow and be extended beyond normal limits.  To learn what those things mean and how they can apply them in their lives.  These hopefully will provide the necessary preparation for what this crazy world intends to throw at them later.

Cowgirls

At Church 2 days later both Lexi and McKenna were invited to share their personal experiences with the entire congregation.  It was heartwarming to hear what they each learned and to see how the experience touched them in a very spiritual way as well.  Their faith was strengthened.  My heart was lifted, my vessel filled.

We don't have to go on a pioneer trek to learn how to do hard things well.  In fact, we don't have to look very far do we, to see that there are piles of hard things all around us.  The trick is to figure out how we will move "through" them.

• Being patient.....
• Maintaining a positive attitude when things don't go your way....
• Willing to be first....
• Leading when no one else will....
• Accepting feedback without resentment...
• Learning to love the journey you are on....
• Loving one's choices.... 

In essence....."learning to dance in the rain" like these 3 did.  I know others who do this so well.  I am so grateful to them for their examples.  Literally they pave the way for me to follow.  They give me the inspiration and motivation to follow suit.