Blessing Others

Somehow ESPN has the uncanny ability to make me cry, whether it's the story of a football player who fought cancer to get back to his team or the story of a father who wrote letters to his son before his football game every week. Yeah, I'm a sap. Don't even get me started on the annual Christmas Folgers commercials. Oh. My. Gosh.



I digress…

Last night, the University of Alabama Crimson Tide football team received the Disney Spirit award because of its efforts in rebuilding Tuscaloosa after the EF-4 tornado ripped through the town on April 27. Obviously, seeing images of the destruction in a town I love brings tears to my eyes; however, there is so much more to this story.

Alabama is a team full of tradition; its fans are known to be some of the most passionate in the country. The real fans support the team through losses, awful coaching decisions and even the Shula years. *shudder*



When the winds were gone and the devastation was visible, the football team put the suffering town and its people and their backs. In order to give back to the fans that had supported them for so long, they spent days upon days sorting through the rubble, recovering bodies and clearing debris. They spent countless hours rebuilding local businesses and the homes of families who were forced to begin again. They sponsored kids who had no hope and gave them something to smile about again.

As football season approached, Tuscaloosa's residents desperately needed normalcy, something to cling to when so many things were bleak. With images of the destruction and the faces of their despondent neighbors, the team set out to win. This time, they didn't work for a championship ring, but they worked for their town.

Last night, Carson Tinker, our long snapper, accepted the award on behalf of the Crimson Tide. His acceptance of the award was bittersweet. He, like so many others, lost someone he loved that day. As his house was ripped off its foundation, his girlfriend was ripped from his arms. He was thrown 100 yards, where he suffered a few injuries, including having a ligament tear from the bone in his wrist. The greatest injury of all was to his heart, when he discovered his girlfriend a few yards away, lifeless.



The point of this post isn't to highlight what my team did. I'm sure most teams around the country would do something similar in the light of tragedy. Instead, I'd like to highlight something Carson said. When asked, "What did giving back mean to you," he replied, "You know, some people asked for blessings, but we asked that we could be a blessing to the state of Alabama and the people that were affected."

There's absolutely nothing wrong with talking to God about blessing your life or the lives of those you love. For that reason, Jesus said, "So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you." (Luke 11:9 NIV) I, for one, have no problem telling God what I desire for myself, my family or my friends. What I occasionally forget is to ask God to use me, to let me be a beacon to Him.

Asking God to use me used to be a necessary in my prayer life. With the busyness of life, that tends to slip to the optional list. Carson’s message really spoke to me. Each day, I am given the opportunity to be light to someone else. I come in contact with hundreds of people a week, many of which probably need a blessing. How different would my life be if I began incorporating the invitation for God to use me in my daily prayers? How different would the world be if we all sought out people to bless instead of blessings for ourselves?

Luke 6:38: Give, and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.