Lessons from the bleachers <3

A couple of years ago, Russ and I attended an out of town football game to cheer on a family friend. The team we were supporting was the home team, so we joined the red-shirted fans of the team we had adopted for the evening and made our way around the track to the visitors’ stands.

The host school was obviously not hurting for funding. While their bleachers were huge, they also had provided a lot of seating for guests. The silver benches had quite a few rows to choose from and extended a long length of the field offering a good choice of views. 

One problem. There were no stairs anywhere to help fans climb up to find a spot. Not even on the ends. The first row was a hefty step up and from there you had to make your way up through those already seated. 

With one knee that doesn’t like to bend very much, this posed a bit of a problem for me. Russ and some nice people already seated helped me navigate the first large step and then I awkwardly stepped over bench after bench until I got to the place where our friends were sitting. 

I felt unwelcome and unwanted. 

And that is a tactic used at many athletic events. 

In London I got to attend a local soccer game with a group we were traveling with. Thankfully we had purchased tickets for the home team. While we sat in fairly nice theater type seats, the guests for the other team were crammed into a tiny area in the far outfield with a terrible view of the field. 

We went to a baseball game this summer at a small satellite campus of a larger university. The visitor stands were compact and offered an excellent view of the roof of the dugout and about half of the infield. There was no place except the far yonder to stand along a fence, while the home team bleachers had a full view of the field plus there was a wide expanse of fencing beyond the dugout to set up yard chairs. 

So we can take away a couple of lessons here. 

First off, there is a way to make people feel welcome. There is a heart that considers what a guest or visitor or outsider may encounter and a desire to eliminate obstacles, inconveniences and discomfort. 

In this case, I need to be looking for ways to make others feel loved, expected and welcomed. 

Second, if you have something in your life that is not working for your good, you really can create a hostile environment for it. 

The enemy of my soul comes to mind. He is a thief who comes to kill, steal and destroy. And sometimes I create a grandstand fit for the home team for him. 

In reality, I should be putting up barriers so that he can not have access to my thoughts, feelings, hopes, dreams, faith, emotions, and heart. 

In this case, I need to think how I can make the one who hates me feel unwelcome and unwanted and uncomfortable if he tries to settle into a seat on the 50 yard line of my life.

Blessings friends <3