Changing Colors.....

We got up really early this morning and drove to College Station. We were headed there for the "Game Day Workshop" for prospective students. We have a daughter wanting to go there next year. Anyhow, we drove for about 3 hours in the early morning hours to be there by 7:30. We had wanted to go down last night and stay overnight, but when I started searching for a room, I soon found out that since TAMU was playing Texas Tech, ALL the hotel rooms were totally booked. It seems almost the entire state of Texas had converged on this college town.

We made it to our destination on time, no thanks to a parking attendant that could not give us directions to our assigned parking lot. We were not alone. There were several of us, parents with their children, coming to this college town to check out where our children might spend the next four years of their lives. We quickly formed a pack of moving bodies traveling down a long walkway, across busy streets and around tailgaters already setting up their game day feasts. We followed the signs and found ourselves in a sea of maroon and welcoming "howdies." We gathered together in a large lecture hall and watched a presentation on applying for TAMU while also learning some fun trivia facts of the college. After a few question and answer sessions and a little more in depth help, we were finished.....only ONE hour after we had arrived! We drove 3 hours, sat for one hour, then we were finished. With a full day left to enjoy, we headed out to see the town.

When we arrived, the place was just starting to wake up, but by the time we left, there was a wave of maroon flooding the city. Every now and then we would see a spot or two of red, but mostly the proud home team colors. We headed to one of the favorite shirt shops to get a new t-shirt or two and to support our daughter's future home. There we found even more fans buying items to support the team and to make their support known to all around.

There was a lot of pride in those colors. You immediately knew where they stood. You immediately knew if they were for you or against you. One thing I noticed was that the colors were not just for the young college students, but they spread to the much older and even the very young. Parents and grandparents who had passed down their traditions to their children were there as well. Even future generations were decked out in their parents' team colors. A whole city of tradition and pride was coming alive.

One thing that was very evident was that no matter whether the team was having a winning or loosing season, the fans were loyal. VERY LOYAL! Their pride and their dedication did not waiver. They stayed steady, no matter what troubled season was ahead. They were there to support and cheer on even the most struggling of players. They were behind their team! I had never quite understood this loyality I had seen from friends who had attended this university, but today it was obvious. This was a family event! A great big family!

It got me thinking about our commitments. In today's world it is easier to just choose a different team to support than to stick by our loyalties. We see this in our constant desires to have the newest and best of everything. If the car gets a rattle, we trade it in for a newer model. If our house is not as nice as our friends, we go in deeper debt to have what is seen as good by today's standards. If our spouse is not making us happy any longer, we find someone or something else to make us happy. Rather than stick with what we have and working to improve it, we just move on to what we think will make us happier. When we get dissatisfied, instead of working through the problem, we move on and start over. We trade one shirt for another!

I really don't understand this. I have always been taught to be loyal, whether that is my physical family, my spiritual family, my school or my community. You just don't give up on people. You work through your problems. You talk them out and figure out how to get along. You stick with each other through winning seasons and loosing. Maybe instead of wearing our colors we need to be wearing our name. Being like Christ does not allow us to give up on others. It does not allow us to judge and condemn others for not being like us. Just imagine if we wore our name like those fans wore their colors, there would be no mistaking which side we were on. Whether old or young, rich or poor, intelligent or naive, if our pride would fall and we would unite under just one name....Christ's name...imagine what we could do. What an impact on the lives of others we would be! Instead, we let our loyalties fall and our pride get in the way and we loose the influence we once had. One t-shirt I saw even stated as much, a house divided will not stand. We can't just trade shirts. No one in that crowd would have changed to a red shirt the minute their team started loosing! Not a single one of them.

The colors I saw today came from every direction, every walk of life, and every age group. Some were absorbed in their memories of days gone by and excited about what new things would come. Others were experiencing this game day for the first time. And then others, like us, were on the outside, looking in and being amazed at the unity of spirit these people had for their team. It even made us aware of why so many desire to become part of this family. A family united behind the same goal. Some gave up much to be part of the day. Some walked miles to attend. Some camped all night and others rose early to drive many hours. All had one common cause, to cheer and support their team while being united in front of all that would see them.