It’s game 7 tonight. Go Leafs Go!
My family right now is going nuts. My brother, a life long Leafs fan who has for years cheered a team that was floundering is beyond excited. My Dad is feeling the same way. Together they have tried desperately to make a fan out of my husband by making him watch every playoff game with them. Alvin claims he doesn’t care but bailed from a meeting at my son’s school tonight as he said to me ‘it’s Game 7′. Leaf-mania is everywhere in my life from tiny leaf pajamas to constant iPhone updates. It’s all we’re talking about and it’s kind of fun.
My brother came over today and we got to talking about [wait for it] the Leafs. He’s so excited about tonight and when I commented on how calm under pressure James Reimer seemed last night he said ‘It’s his faith. He’s Christian you know. You should blog about him.’ I quickly replied that I don’t blog about everyone who’s a Christian but then secretly went and looked the guy up. If my brother was saying his grace under fire was due to his faith, I had to know what people were talking about. What I found was really inspiring.
James Reimer said this about his faith “It’s a big reason why I’m calm out there,” he said. “I mean, I don’t have any fear of what’s going to happen. The way I see it, or tell myself, if I let in zero or six, it’s His call up there. It’s whatever He wants in my life. It helps to calm it down and put everything in perspective.“
This kind of faith in God with regards to his work and the outcome is inspiring. From what I’ve read, James Reimer works hard, really hard to maintain his skill level and focus. He is determined to be the best player he can be but in the end after all the work is done he knows that God is the one who brings him peace. He believes that what God wants is what will happen and that’s what matters to him. To some his thoughts may be silly. They may see it as just a game that God wouldn’t care about while others may say it’s a fatalistic attitude, but I think it goes deeper than that. The quote he has on the back of his helmet from Matthew 14:31 reflects that. It’s about trust, not doubt. It’s about faith and knowing that God is the one who gives you strength and is invested in you.
Isn’t this how we should all live our lives? Working hard to grow our talents and skills that we’ve been given and trusting that God will go with us to guide us as we go. It’s not about us doing it all or God doing it all, it’s teamwork. It’s about relationship.
Imagine if we did this as a church? What would happen if we used our talents and skills but surrendered the outcome to God? It could be good, great even. We might see that it isn’t about us fixing things or making things possible but instead letting God bless that which God saw fit to bless while we work to bring light into the world however we know how.
Reading about James Reimer today gave me a few things to think about. It’s not either/or it’s both/and. It’s not enough for me to use my gifts, I have to trust that God will help me as I go. It isn’t enough for the church to plan for the future, we have to invite God to join in and direct us. Good thoughts to ponder over the coming weeks and months but for tonight I shall just say this…
Go Leafs Go!
