Two and a half years later I am pregnant once again. Our girl's name hasn't changed. However, the situation around her name certainly has. Anyone reading this already knows what I'm referencing, but for posterity's sake, I'll spell it out. ONE YEAR AGO TODAY, in what can only be described as bizarre, Auburn met Virginia in the national semifinal game of the men's basketball Final Four. It was a close, back-and-forth game, with Virginia ending up victorious in the end following a controversial no-call on a double dribble, a foul call on a missed 3 point shot, and 3 clutch free throws by UVA's sharpshooter, Kyle Guy. Since that game, I've been meaning to reflect upon my emotions from that day. Being pregnant again with the possibility of a girl was just the impetus I needed to finally jot down what that day and game meant to me.
As I noted in my previous post, the name Virginia holds many layers and much meaning for me. It encapsulates not just that school or that state, but everything and everyone surrounding them up to this point in my life. The added element of the basketball game is just another layer. Here's what I'd want to tell my daughter:
"Sweet girl, this world you are being born into is beautiful. Everywhere you look you can see God's hand and His purpose. In fact, He tells us in His word that "the Heavens declare the glory of God, the sky above proclaims His handiwork."* If you have eyes to see and ears to hear, you will not be able to miss Him in the people, places, and events surrounding you.
However, this world you are entering is also broken. It is rotting with pain and death. The curse of sin permeates anything and everything this side of Heaven. Every bit of joy you feel will be coupled with at least a tinge of pain. There will be no true satisfaction for you on this Earth.
But take heart! Should you (and I believe and hope that you will) one day decide to answer the call of Jesus, the One who has come to rescue not only you but all of creation, you will be able to see past the destruction. He will give His Spirit to you to yearn for and catch glimpses of the new Heaven and the new Earth which He is preparing for us, even now!
A microcosm of these Truths is what I saw played out during a basketball game in early April of 2019. Can you imagine the joy of not only one, but BOTH of your alma maters making it to the final four? One for the first time in decades and one for the first time EVER! Can you then also imagine that joy quickly turned to anxiety as you realized this meant they would now play one another in a national semi-final game?! The tension I felt that night was indescribable to anyone not also experiencing it.
Virginia, you will have your own tensions like this. Times where the "now but not yet" of the human condition hit you square in the face. Where you experience the word bittersweet in all of its meaning. Press into these times. Don't run from them. Sit in the discomfort and allow yourself to fully feel the effects of being a citizen of both Earth and Heaven. You'll also find that you have days that mimic all of the characters in the story above. Some days you'll feel like the Auburn player who committed that last minute foul. Like all of Heaven and Earth have come crashing down on you. Other days you'll feel the elation of that UVA guard as his third free throw went in and won the game. You'll feel on top of the world. At times, you'll even resemble the UVA player whose double dribble wasn't called. You'll find yourself a recipient of mercy--escaping a punishment or negative consequences you deserve. Just remember in all of these circumstances, you're the same person. A year before hitting those clutch free throws that UVA player led a team that was knocked out of the tournament in the first round...the first EVER 1-seed to do so. And a year later, that Auburn player is the starting guard on his team. He's a team leader. That one foul from last season doesn't define him. Similarly, your days, good or bad, won't define you. As your grandmother has always told me, "just remember who and Whose you are" and press forward.
I love you already, and I have full faith in the One who created you that you will come to know Him and live fully into the many meanings behind your name.
Love,
Mom"
Virginia, you will have your own tensions like this. Times where the "now but not yet" of the human condition hit you square in the face. Where you experience the word bittersweet in all of its meaning. Press into these times. Don't run from them. Sit in the discomfort and allow yourself to fully feel the effects of being a citizen of both Earth and Heaven. You'll also find that you have days that mimic all of the characters in the story above. Some days you'll feel like the Auburn player who committed that last minute foul. Like all of Heaven and Earth have come crashing down on you. Other days you'll feel the elation of that UVA guard as his third free throw went in and won the game. You'll feel on top of the world. At times, you'll even resemble the UVA player whose double dribble wasn't called. You'll find yourself a recipient of mercy--escaping a punishment or negative consequences you deserve. Just remember in all of these circumstances, you're the same person. A year before hitting those clutch free throws that UVA player led a team that was knocked out of the tournament in the first round...the first EVER 1-seed to do so. And a year later, that Auburn player is the starting guard on his team. He's a team leader. That one foul from last season doesn't define him. Similarly, your days, good or bad, won't define you. As your grandmother has always told me, "just remember who and Whose you are" and press forward.
I love you already, and I have full faith in the One who created you that you will come to know Him and live fully into the many meanings behind your name.
Love,
Mom"
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