Power Play

Friday nights are date night for my Husband and I. This always consists of dinner at some local restaurant followed (at times) by a movie in which I faithfully indulge in a sinfully buttery order of movie theater popcorn. We have made date night a priority in our marriage so as never to allow life in general to get in the way of quality hubby-bubby and wifey-pooh time. However, our Friday night plans were nixed last week... but for good reason.

Date night ended up being on Tuesday and it wasn't local. We also didn't plan any part of it... my boss did (oddly enough) along with paying for a portion of it. He is a major hockey fan with season tickets that never go to waste. Last Tuesday he had a meeting he couldn't miss so he offered the tickets to us. He explained how to get to the stadium, where to park, which restaurant to check into and even, if we had time, where to go for some ice cream. The night couldn't have gone off better... well, except that our team lost miserably. Still, we had a blast and hope that the grumpy man who sat at the end of our row learns to have more fun too!

It surprises even me that I enjoy hockey. I am not anti-sport... but I usually don't spend any time watching, studying, or participating in it. That was not always the case. For quite a few years in my youth I was a gymnast and after that I was a cheerleader. Two great forms of athletic endeavors that I am proud of. Some folks might think me sacrilegious or even anti-American because I am not a football fan. But hockey? I don't know, something about it catches my interest and I find myself not only willing to go to a game but also ready to offer up commentary during the action.

In hockey, when one team has a penalty, the player responsible for that penalty is taken out of the game for a pre-determined amount of time causing what is called a "Power Play." His team, now one man short, must continue to play even though their opponents have full numbers. This is when things get exciting and can either work for or against the team of choice. Imagine four players against five all in the fight to score the next point. Will the underdogs come out victorious despite the odds or will their momentary weakness be their undoing? Win or lose, it is just fun to find out.

Reader beware... I am about to turn a date night story into a hockey-themed life lesson. Continue at your own risk... lame self-made theology ahead!

How often have I created a power play in my own life? Whether I am the underdog or just the spoiled wife/daughter/friend/etc... that wants to get her way I can either come out victorious or just plain pitiful. I struggle with God because he might not be answering my prayer the way I want Him to when I want Him to. I fight my pride at work when someone else can do a part of my job better than me not because I am lacking but because they have perfected that skill. Jealousy over other couple's success to conceive is a constant power play. Am I truly as happy for them as I say I am or has bitterness made me a liar who covets what they have? The list could go on and on and on.

In the end, whether I succeed or maybe not so much, all that matters is that I learned something valuable. God's ways will always far surpass anything I come up with. A co-worker's skills are a free opportunity for me to learn and better myself. And as for those couple's who get the honor of being called parents... well, I AM happy for them. I may have to cling, sometimes white knuckled, to that better-natured part of myself but it is a fight worth winning.

Sometimes, like our hockey team did last Tuesday, I will lose miserably and will feel every humiliating moment of it. Thank God for His grace and strength when my battle feels every inch of the hill I find myself climbing. Time and again, though, He has been there to pull me (if not carry me) to the top where the view is fresh. This may just be the beginning of yet another stress-inducing power play but perhaps this time I'll shoot and, hope of hopes, score. Thank goodness I have a patient coach!