A Matter of Perspective

Just like 100 million other people, our family watched Super Bowl LIII.  I have come to realize that I can only really enjoy a football game if I have absolutely no interest in who wins.  When I have a rooting interest, I am far too tense and emotionally invested to appreciate the game.  This was exactly the case as I watch the Patriots and Rams.  While I am not a fan of the Patriots, I can only name three people on the team, Brady, Gronk and Edelman, I am an admirer of the Patriot program, otherwise known as, "The Patriot Way."  What they have accomplished is amazing.  I know more people hate them than like them.  I know they are called cheaters, babies, they pay off the refs and on and on and on.  Yet despite all of their detractors, they just keep winning.  Yes, I like them because they win and because I appreciate seeing excellence. 

It was that very mindset that made me miserable watching the game on Sunday night.  I was anticipating seeing the Pats offense control the game that I completely missed the high-powered performance their defense put on display.  Although I was watching the Patriot defense stop the Rams on eight straight drives, I did not appreciate what I was seeing.  I just wanted to see Brady throw a deep strike to Gronk or Edelman for a touchdown. 

It was not until the next morning, as I sat alone in the silence of the early morning hours that I realized that not only was Super Bowl LIII the lowest scoring game in Super Bowl history, but the 3 points allowed by the Patriots defense tied the lowest amount of points allowed in the Big Game.  In 53 years, only two times were teams held to 3 points, and I watched one of them.  I was so determined to see one thing that I completely missed what was happening right in font of my eyes because I was not looking for it.  When I made this observation to a friend I work with he said, "When you think of the "85" Bears, what do you thing about?"  I said, "A dominating defense."  He said, "Exactly, and even a stinky Patriots team scored 10 points on them." 

What I should have realized Sunday night completely went over my head, all because I was not in tune to what I was watching.  I wanted to see one thing which caused me to refuse to see something incredibly obvious.  Then I got to thinking, how many times do I do this with God?  God shows his power and might, beauty and love every day, but how often do I miss it because I am looking for something other than what is going on right in front of me.  How many times do I look right past the beauty of God's creation because there might be some grey clouds in the sky?  How many times do I miss the joy of waking up with breath in my lungs and in my right mind because I may have a little ache here or there?  How many do I times do I look right past the joy of fellowship with others simply because we might have a different point of view on a subject? 

What a simple football game taught me was that I can get so caught up in what I want that I can completely miss the incredible gifts that God is giving me.