Round 1: Fighting Lancers @ Kern Valley

The Varsity Basketball team at Western Christian plays Kern Valley on Wednesday in the first round of the C.I.F. playoffs. How excited is this dude right now? I can’t even explain. But consider the situation. We’re playing a team we’ve never even seen let alone played. There are no stats available online for them, not even to the extent of listing roster vitals. They are the home team on Friday so we hit the road in anticipated snow conditions to make the 3-hour trek to them. For illustrative purposes, they are the opposition unknown. And because the battle is eminent our recourse is pretty straight-forward – either show up to play or forfeit a playoff win. Obviously we’re not interested in the latter.

Now, enter the analogy. Everyday is a playoff game vs. Kern Valley is it not? You woke up this morning in a state, a condition, in a frame of mind. And in that condition you set out. You moved from a bed or a couch or a sofa or a rocking chair to another location, perhaps to the toilet for more comfort and privacy. You moved physically and time moved forward with you. Without realizing, you engaged various combatants – hostiles that threaten but aren’t well scouted. Certain skirmishes cannot be avoided as they are the path. Do you not have to go directly to disappointment to beat it? Or what say you of depression, loneliness, weight issues, insecurity, etc? It’s day 14 of your baby crying at 3 a.m. despite taking cat naps all day and you feel the walls closing in. But it’s quite the contrary. You’ve actually taken the fight to the forces of evil by choosing to parent at 3 a.m. instead of discard. See, you have to engage these elements straight away to see through to your life’s wholeness? And the truth is that many of us have traveled the 3 hour journey to lock horns with Kern Valley. You may not know much about your opponent, the terrain on the way to meet him, nor the primary weapons he employs. But what you do know is that you can’t afford not to engage. The cost of not making the 3-hour hike is far greater than the risk of losing the contest.