Touchdown

To understand where I am coming from, it helps to know the game of football. The one hour play of game is divided into four, fifteen-minute quarters. Bright green, artificial turf covers the field and white lines demarcate the one-hundred yards between the two end zones. Each team attempts to get the pointy, brown leather ball into the other teams end zone, creating an unpredictable back and forth contest.

The offense is the team that has possession of the ball, and they have four tries to move the ball ten yards. If they don’t make it, the ball is turned over to the opposing team.

There are basically two ways to move the ball downfield; passing - when the ball is thrown to a teammate, and rushing - when a teammate is handed the ball and makes a run for it. In both situations, very large men, players of the defensive team, are trying their hardest to prevent this. Announcers have a gift of seeing both sides of the action and they give a play-by-play account of the progress, or lack thereof.

The quarterback is the leader of the offensive team and he decides which plays the team will execute - with help from a coach, via a wrist-cuff straight from the Jetsons. The most exciting plays are when the ball is thrown far downfield to a receiver, who defies the laws of gravity to miraculously snatch the ball from mid-air.

The successful defensive plays are harder to see, and the players that execute them well don’t seem to get as much glory as the high-jumping receiver. These plays happen within seconds of the quarterback receiving the ball, with players from both sides all smushed-up, jumbled together and tumbling around, known as tackling.

There are times when the intensity of the game gets kicked-up a notch. One of these times is when the ball is in the red zone, the last ten yards before the goal line. Both offense and defense have special teams that have practiced many hours for specific plays tailored for this area. The twenty-two men, eleven on each team, all have a particular talent that qualifies them to be part of these special teams.

A touchdown is when the ball crosses the goal line into the end zone for six points. Afterwards, they are given a chance to score an extra point. Usually, a kicker comes on the field and attempts to kick the one foot wide ball between school bus-yellow goal posts that are eighteen feet apart and soar over four stories high.

The last two minutes of play is filled with high-stakes football. Again, special teams are called in and the plays become riskier, with both sides taking chances. There isn’t much time left, and they do whatever is necessary to score, or to block the score. Adrenaline and excitement run high - this is no time to sit back and relax - and that is just me. I can only imagine what it must be like on the field!

I recently heard someone refer to the average lifespan in quarters. Birth to age twenty as the first quarter, twenty to forty the second, forty to sixty the third, and sixty to eighty as the fourth quarter, with anything over eighty as bonus - I call it overtime. That gave me pause. I am well into the fourth quarter.

And, like the announcer who reviews the plays of the game, I found myself replaying scenes from my life. There were times when I was on the offense, charging through life and making downs, touchdowns, and extra points. Victorious with both rushing and passing, I was unstoppable and slipped past any opposition. Often, in these scenes I am the lone player making a break for the end zone, leaving my teammates behind. 

Other times, with the same plays, I encountered setbacks, lost yardage and was stopped in my tracks. The worst was when my life was intercepted, out of my control and going in the wrong direction. Those times I went on the defense.

Funny thing, when I was in that position I found myself on my knees, praying before I would make the next play. I was in-tune with my teammates, especially my family and good friends. They became my special teams, each with a quality that could help me gain yardage through this game called life.

Yes, I am in the fourth quarter, but the game is far from over. I am not merely letting the clock run down. Approaching the two-minute mark has given me a new perspective. I am finding new enjoyment and appreciation for this game of life, and checking in with Coach to see what He is thinking. He has me making exciting new plays and calling on my special teams, but now to go have fun and adventure. It is a time to take chances and pump-up the adrenaline. I want to leave it all on the field. 

Let the whistle blow, I plan on going well into overtime!