When Life Shocks You

People who know me know that I like when things go as planned. I like to have a plan. Although I can be spontaneous, I don’t like when shocking things happen.

We recently had family that received shocking news of a friends’ death. They are completely devastated by it.

Obviously none of us are prepared for the times when life shocks us. It makes us realize how little we control about life. Life is a very unpredictable journey. Sometimes we make choices and other times things happen we never expected.

Sudden death of a loved one.
Bad report from a doctor.
Unexpected lay off from a job.
Car accident.

Shocks of life happen whether we are prepared for them or not.

Even as a believer, I don’t always react well to the unexpected. My faith still gets shaken and when shocking moments happen, I have to pull myself together to face the circumstances I am being dealt and remind myself that God is in control.

I’m not going to quote Bible verses to you or give you some Christian cliches.  I won't lead you to believe that it’s easy. It is not. It takes courage to get through the moments which totally blindside you.

When shocking things happen, we have to take time to absorb the shock. There is no shortcut. We have to give ourselves time to feel what has happened. I know that none of us like to feel pain and we will do all that we can to avoid it. The truth is that we have to feel the pain and the only way to get through it is to go through it. No, it’s not much fun but necessary. We then have to regroup and adjust to it. We have to press on.

The reality is that life is not ours to control. Sure, it seems like it can be manageable when bills are paid, everyone is healthy, marriage is going well and work is good. But when life shocks you it can totally shatter your world.

In times my life has been shocked, I often listen to a song in my playlist called “Made Me Glad” by Hillsong. When I’m at the depth of my pain, this part of the song breaks me:

You are my shield, my strength
My portion, Deliverer
My shelter, string tower
My very present help in time of need.

This is the way I cope. We all have a way that works for us. We have to endure somehow and survive the shocks that life hits us with.

Thoughts About Being a Sports Fan

While watching the Super Bowl last night, I began thinking about my experience of being a sports fan during my lifetime. Over the years I have had my favorite teams. Most of my teams have not been very consistent with winning. Some good seasons but most seasons have been painful.

The first sport I became a fan of was football. My first team was the New York Jets with Joe Namath. My dad loved football so I would watch it with him. He also got me interested in high school football and took me to see his high school football team. I have been hooked since.

Here are the professional sports teams I have been a fan of in each sport:

Baseball
Atlanta Braves (1981-Present)

Basketball
Atlanta Hawks (1978-1999)
**Currently a free agent.

Football
New York Jets (1970-1976)
Atlanta Falcons (1977-2016)
Tennessee Titans (2017-2025)
**Currently a free agent

Hockey
Atlanta Flames (1978-1980)
Nashville Predators (2014-Present)

How many championships have I "won" with my favorite sports teams?

I thought back over the years and wondered how many of my teams have won championships. Here is the list I came up with:

1980    Georgia Bulldogs (Football)
1986    Villa Rica (High School Football)
1988    Warner Robins (High School Football)
1995    Atlanta Braves (Baseball)
2004    Warner Robins (High School Football)
2020    Warner Robins (High School Football)
2021    Atlanta Braves (Baseball)
2021    Warner Robins (High School Football)
2021    Georgia Bulldogs (Football)
2022    Georgia Bulldogs (Football)

Looking back, it seems that 2021 was a good year for my teams.  Unfortunately, the flip side of being a sports fan is the heartbreaking losses I have also had.  Some of the losses I took hard were the Atlanta Falcons Super Bowl loss to the New England Patriots after they had a 28-3 lead.  That loss was the end of my following of the team.  That's how hard that loss was for me.  I also took the loss of the Atlanta Braves to the Minnesota Twins in Game 7 of the 1991 World Series.  Another tough loss to take was when the Nashville Predators loss of the Stanley Cup final to the Pittsburgh Penguins.

It has been an experience of ups and downs over the years.  None of my teams' wins or losses have affected my life one way or another.  Sports have been something that have been a part of my life.  I don't live and breathe sports like some do but it has been a part of me.

Thoughts on Moving

Last year I moved for the 35th time in my life. I relocated to a new home and a new city.

When I reflect on my lifetime of moves, I have never been one that ever wished to move back to some place I left. I know some who always wish they were back at a place they had left. It is sad to live that way. I have learned to adjust and be content where I am at the moment.

The only time in my life when I did not want to move was after my sophomore year in high school. I protested the move because I wanted to finish high school there. Unfortunately my dad decided it was God’s will for us to move to another church and another city.

Perhaps the most challenging move was when my wife and I moved to Tampa. It was nothing like we had expected. After the first month we wanted to move. It eventually took two years.

Moving has always been a part of my life. I never really had a physical place to call home. From an early age I learned that moving was a part of my life. I attended 10 different schools in 12 years. I was always the new kid at church and school. I had to learn to be good at adjusting to change.

They say that people who move around a lot can be called nomads, vagabonds, globetrotters, or itinerants, often driven by jobs, wanderlust, or a need for change, leading to adaptability but potentially shallower roots and relationships. Modern terms include digital nomads, while traditional groups like nomadic tribes follow seasonal patterns for resources, but many people today move for personal reasons like adventure or boredom.

Even as I sit here now, I know we will move again. I don’t know when and I don’t know where yet. Some of our family are upset that we have moved but making these decisions to relocate are never easy decisions.

So when and where will the next move be? I don't know but there will be another move.

I often wonder if I would prefer a cottage on the beach somewhere or another stare or even another country. I still remember our trip to Europe several years ago and remember my favorite place located in Weggis, Switzerland. It was one of the most beautiful places I have seen. Mark Twain thought so too when he visited it. Could the next move but further up into a New England state? We really loved our visits to Newport, Rhode Island and Ogunguit, Maine last year.

The only thing I am certain of is that there will be another move at some point in the future.