Although I am not a Dallas Cowboys fan, I am not so rabid in my opposition that I root for anyone playing them. Since I have never been to Seattle, and although I understand Shaun Alexander (one of the Seattle Seahawks players) is a committed Christian, I decided to root for Dallas. My son-in-law is a Cowboys fan, and in the spirit of family unity I felt it a necessity.
It seemed that the outcome of the game had finally been secured. Dallas trailed by one point, but had the ball on the Seattle one-and-a-half yard line with 79 seconds to play. All they had to do was kick a 3-point field goal and prevent Seattle from scoring for the final minute of play and the game would be won.
Confidently, Martin Gramatica, the kicker, trotted onto the field. For him, a boot of 19 total yards from the placement of the ball to the crossbar of the goalpost would be a virtual certainty. The teams lined up, the ball was snapped and Tony Romo, the quarterback who had played so well all season, dropped the ball before he could place it on the ground to be kicked.
Fortunately, being the conscientious publication we are, the Religious Herald had a staff photographer on the scene to capture that historic moment. OK, I'm not serious about the “photographer on the scene” part.
The disastrous consequence for the Cowboys was a “sure” field goal that never got kicked and a “certain” victory that dissolved into a bitter 21-20 defeat.
I often become pensive after disappointments (Connie mistakenly calls this pouting), so following the game I began to reflect on the tragedy of missed opportunity. A missed opportunity may be a once-for-all event which can never be recaptured—as Sunday's game was for the Cowboys. Or, a missed opportunity may be a continual rejection of the right thing to do—as when Richard Nixon neglected every chance to thank Gerald Ford for issuing him a pardon at the cost, at least according to the speculations of historians, of Ford's being elected president in 1976.
But my reflections would not stay confined to the sports and political arenas. I began to muse more seriously on personal matters and I identified many missed opportunities of my own.
Kirby Knight
I have missed many opportunities to demonstrate to those closest to me how much I love them. As a pastor for 25 years, I missed many opportunities to show my wife, Connie, that she was at least as important to me as the church. I was driven to not disappoint church people because it could affect their relationship with the Lord! This is not to say I never failed to meet their expectations, of course. But, I assumed my wife would understand. After all, I was neglecting my own needs, too. To her eternal credit, she did understand—usually without murmuring and grumbling. I wish I hadn't squandered so many opportunities.
Fortunately for me, Connie remembers other opportunities seized, but I am still aware of having taken her goodness for granted.
I have also missed opportunities to spread joy. Despite a critical need for it, encouragement is in short supply. God must have known that in church life discouragement would come naturally. That's why “encouragement” is a spiritual gift provided by the Holy Spirit to build up the church! One may search in the original languages, but no corresponding gift of “discouragement” is to be found—though I have known several people whose ability to incite this feeling in others is truly remarkable.
Even more alarming, I have missed opportunities to be faithfully obedient. I have, on occasion, remained silent when I should have spoken a word of witness; and, there are times when I couldn't seem to keep my mouth shut when silence was what the Spirit required of me.
I have also, at times, missed opportunities to seek the Lord's pardon and to express my gratitude for what cost him more than an election. But, not today. Today I am fully aware of my need and of his grace. “Thank-you, Lord!”
All in all, the Cowboy's loss has done me a lot of good.