A football blog from Bryan? Really?? Please bear with me!

“In our system of government, it’s not about Hail Mary passes. It’s the Woody Hayes school of football  —  three yards and a cloud of dust. Three yards and a cloud of dust. It’s a slow, methodical process.” – John Boehner, reflecting on his time as Speaker of the House.

Whatever your political views, Boehner’s comments remind me of the struggles we all face as we etch our way through life’s journey to finding meaning and purpose. As we seek to influence and create positive change in the world we find it’s indeed a slow process often marked by difficult battles and sometimes intense struggles.

I wonder, do Boehner’s comments also remind you of your own struggles?  I understand the symbolism of the “Hail Mary” pass, though for me personally, it is actually a deep need to cry, “Dear Jesus.” It’s often prayed in great desperation and in the middle of our strenuous trials. We pray with great hope that If we simply throw ourselves upon the only one who can save us that he will lovingly and miraculously catch us in his receiving arms.

But there is also this other image of “three yards and a cloud of dust.”

The quote was authored by Woody Hayes, a widely celebrated and accomplished American football coach whose illustrious career ended when he was fired after punching an opponent for intercepting his team’s pass with just minutes left on the championship clock. I read that Hayes’ basic coaching philosophy was that “nobody could win football games unless they regarded the game positively and would agree to pay the price that success demands of a team.” His style was often described as “three yards and a cloud of dust”—in other words, a “crunching, frontal assault of muscle against muscle, bone upon bone, will against will.” – Source: Wikipedia. (God knows I wouldn’t know this stuff!)

Sometimes, our life journey and our spiritual walk might seem like that, “three yards and a cloud of dust,” as we seek, all too often in our own power, to move the ball forward at a seemingly great price. We march onto the field with our goals and strategies. We have great plans, convinced we have “the right stuff” to make them come true if only we work hard enough. But then we run up against tremendous offensive forces that push against us. We lose ground, we gain ground, only to get pushed back yet again.

Maybe you feel like that right now. Maybe you’re asking yourself, “Is it really worth it?” You know it takes ten yards to create a first down and earn more chances to make progress toward the goal line. If you fail, you surrender the ball and it seems you have to fight the devil to get it back so you can try again to win the game.

Is that the way life seems to you?

There’s a better way.

I suppose avid sports fans could come up with a catchy football analogy about relying on the God’s “quarterback” to make the calls or of “recruiting God” to help us score the winning point. But as with most all analogies, our attempt to fit God into our little box won’t work. And we never will be the victors if we only cry out for him to help us score the big points in life.

Ultimately, doesn’t it come down to surrendering not only the ball but the whole game to the one who owns the franchise? After all, the great kickoff started when God created “the great game.” He made the rules and he is the one who persistently, relentlessly, and lovingly draws us together on his team. We are drafted completely by his choice, not by our own prowess. We can choose to join him or not. We can come reluctantly and just sit on the bench and watch our teammates do the work. Or we can fight the battle, not just with all our effort, but with God fighting the battle for us. It’s his power that will win the big event when he finally bring us into the great championship celebration where we will join all the other victors.

So when it seems it’s all “three yards and a cloud of dust,” remember it’s not up to you. Your battle belongs to the Lord. Rely on him to protect you from your adversaries who challenge you and push against you, but will not defeat you. Rely on him to guide your path to victory. Rely on him to strengthen you when you have nothing left to give. Rely on him because he alone is faithful and able and willing to carry you through, in the game and across the goal line.