When I Prayed For God To Raise The Dead

I was 15 years old and in the bed when the phone rang.  My mother answered.  I could hear her side of the conversation and knew it was bad.  My dad rushed out.  I will never forget that night or what I overheard.  Two girls - who were also sisters - in our youth group were killed in an automobile accident.  We were in total shock.  My dad had rushed to be with the family.  A few days later he preached their funerals.

This was the first time that I had been personally affected by death and grief.  

You find out just how strong your faith is when something like that happens.  I was young and still trying to figure things out about my own relationship with God.  I knew church but I was still learning about God.

I prayed that God would raise the two girls from the dead.  I believed He could.  I earnestly prayed for the girls to come back.  I had heard many sermons about how God raised people from the dead so why not then?  I know it sounds silly but I was young and naive but I still believed. 

There was a lot I didn't understand about God then.  Could He have brought the girls back?  Sure He could have.  Did it change my faith?  It did.  I eventually learned that we can pray for things and believe God but that doesn't mean He will answer our prayers in the way we are expecting.  That's a difficult lesson to learn. 

I know how painful it is when you pray for something that you want but not get it the way you wanted it.  I have prayed for people to be healed but they still died.  Honestly you wonder sometimes if it really makes any difference to pray about anything.  Some pray like they are in a courtroom and trying to convince God to decide in their favor.  I have known many people who felt that the louder they prayed the better chances that their prayers would be answered.  Well, God is not swayed by convincing arguments and He's not deaf.  

So why pray?

Prayer is not a list of requests.  It is about communion with God.  He wants a relationship with us.  Would you want a friend that only wanted to ask you to do things for them?  I don't think that would be a good basis for a relationship.  

So should we ask God for things?  Yes, He wants us to ask but it has to be more than that.  It still isn't easy when He doesn't answer our prayers but we have to understand that our ways aren't always God's ways.  Sure, I believe in the impossible and that God can answer prayers but I also understand that it has to align with God's will.  We should pray and trust God - even raising the dead - and leave the results to Him.  

Dealing with the Drama

Life is short.  I'm sure we have all heard that quote before.

Unfortunately, there are people in our lives who seemingly live to stir up drama.  There is no need for it.  Life is hard enough without having to deal with friends, co-workers or family who want to stir up crap for no other reason because of their own selfish motives.  

I have lived it.  Many times, I have "eaten it" to keep the peace.  Several times I have forgiven and moved on even when I wasn't in the wrong.  That's when forgiveness sucks.  I will be honest.  It is painful when you have been hurt by someone and YOU apologize just to keep the peace.  

My most difficult relationship and one that caused my greatest pain was my mother.  I will just tell the truth here.  She put me through hell.  The saddest thing was that there was no need for it.  None.  Even with the drama, it put me in a difficult position.   I wanted to have a good relationship with my mother, but I also had to set boundaries.  It didn't work and I agonized over it for many years.  We would go long periods of time without speaking and then we would try again but the same issues would always come up and she would do something to sabotage it.  It was emotional torture.  

Sadly, it was a no-win situation.  During those years NO ONE was on my side even when they knew how she was treating me.  My relatives chose to believe that I was the bad son.  No one came to my defense. That's why I don't attend any family reunions or have any relations with them.  They picked their side. 

I had to manage it the best I could and focus on living my life without a healthy relationship with my mother.  It wasn't easy but I pressed through it.  It is difficult when you do something someone doesn't like, and they forget all the other good things you have done.  I was NEVER given the benefit of the doubt.  It was a vicious cycle of hurt.  

My mom passed away in 2015.  We never resolved our issues, and we weren't speaking when she died.  Obviously, I regret that things weren't resolved but I also realized that I did do what I could to have a relationship.  Even when you do what you can do, it won't always be enough, and you have to go on knowing you did your part.  

When I think back now about my mother, I am reminded that hurting people will hurt people.  My mother changed when her father (my Pa-Pa) died in 1989.  She was never the same after that.  I don't think she cared much about life after that.  It seemed like everything offended her and she never could be happy.  

People have a reason for how they are.  Some like the make an excuse by saying "that's just how they are" but I refuse to accept that.  People can change if they really want to.  If it's important enough for them they will.  The thing I have had to accept is that I couldn't force my mother to act right.  

Dealing with drama can be challenging but you can navigate through it.  Always seek peace and pursue it if possible.  It's important to forgive even if the other person was the one who hurt you.  Forgiveness frees you.  What the other person does with that is on them.  You can only control you and your happiness.  Throughout the years of turmoil with my relationship with my mother I would often refer to Romans 12:18 where it says:  "If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone."  We will never live in peace with everyone, we can only do the part that depends on us.

My 50th Season of Georgia High School Football

As another season of Georgia High School Football kicks off for me tonight, I have many fond memories of attending and listening to the games on the radio.  I grew up a fan of Georgia High School football.  That’s who I am.  People might think it’s silly, but you all have things too.  

There have been numerous memorable moments both good and bad.  I have definitely experienced the thrill of victories and agonies of defeats following my teams.  

• Clinch County scoring on the last play of the game to beat Jeff Davis 7-6 in 1976. 
• Villa Rica’s thrilling 20-14 overtime win over Darlington in 1979.
• Tompkins’ 18-16 upset of Coffee in the 1980 region semifinal.
• Villa Rica winning the 1986 State Championship over Worth County.
• Sitting in the coldest game ever in Athens in 1985 watching Warner Robins lose to Clarke Central
• Northside Warner Robins upsetting Warner Robins 7-6 in 1990 when Warner Robins was the #1 team in the country.

So many more I could list but you get the idea.  I’m a fan. Always have been.

I haven’t attended a game in person since I moved from Georgia in 2014.  I miss the atmosphere of being at the games.  There is nothing like it for me.

My interest in Georgia High School football started in 1974 when my dad took me to my first game to watch his Clinch County Panthers.  I got hooked from that moment on.  When I started high school, I attended Ware County High School and was on the B-team.  I never got to play but I was happy to at least practice with the team and stand on the sidelines.  We then moved to Villa Rica, Georgia and I got into going to the football games there.  I was on the football team one year. I had lofty ideas, but my size limited me to fulfilling them. 

My Dad moved us before my junior year to Savannah, Georgia where I attended Tompkins High School.  I never attended a game, but I would often listen to whatever game I could find on Friday nights.  I followed many of the Savannah Christian games on the radio.  After I graduated high school, I left for the Air Force and mostly lost contact with high school football.  We didn’t have the internet then like we do today.  When I ended up stationed at Robins Air Force Base in Warner Robins, Georgia, I attended my first Warner Robins football game.  They were playing the Valdosta Wildcats in a state playoff game that night in 1984.  Warner Robins lost but the following season I started attending as many games as I could and that continued for many years.  I never had any children or anyone that I knew attending the school or playing on the football team, but I followed the team.  It was a lot of fun. I remember once attending a game during a heavy rain in Macon.  Someone asked me who I had out there playing to sit there in a driving rain to watch the game.  I said that I didn't - I'm just a fan.

I actually spent a few years working for a local newspaper and covering some high school football games.  This was probably the fondest memories I have.  I only wish I could have started doing it earlier in my life.  

Due to a few career moves, I have ended up in Nashville, Tennessee but thanks to the Internet, I can still follow the games.  Some of my favorite routines are listening to the play-by-play, the Georgia High School Scoreboard show and watching highlights on Football Friday Night from 13WMAZ in Macon.  I’m very thankful that we have today’s technology.  The creation of the Georgia High School Football Historians Assocation website has been my textbook.  I have downloaded a lot of information into my brain from that source.  

I actually live about a mile away from a high school football stadium but it’s not the same for me.  I have tried to move on from following the games but I can’t do it.  That’s not me.  Since I was 11 years old Georgia High School Football has been a part of me.    

With this being my 50th season of following Georgia High School Football, I will share more throughout the season with my favorite games, players and other memories.