Leafs

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Limping Along In Life Is No Way To Live

I’m afraid my team is limping into the playoffs. 

limping along in life is no way to live

It’s hockey playoff season again – that special time of year when you can watch a hockey game that matters every day of the week. 

My wife, Lily, loves this time of year! (I wrote that sarcastically, just in case someone wasn’t able to pick up that vibe.)

All the teams are set and it begins tonight … at least for the teams south of the border. 

We still have a few Canadian teams that need to finish up. So the North Division will politely wait to begin the playoffs until two non-playoff contenders finish out their season. 

The teams in the States will already be three games in by then. 

My big concern is for my team. 

With almost a week off before the playoffs start, the Leafs have time to get ready. Those who have been injured can get healthy again and practice with the team. It gives the team time to figure out a new way to approach their power play, which was once first in the league, but now is dismal. 

Maybe the biggest thing they can do in this next week is get the end of the season out of their heads. 

You want to enter the playoffs cresting. You want to be peaking at the right moment. But the Leafs lost three of their last four possible points. 

They lost in overtime and then just lost their last game straight out. They didn’t look all that great. It looked like they were limping off the ice.

Some might argue that they didn’t need to try very hard because they already had the top spot locked up in the North. 

But they finished 6th place in the league when they could have finished 4th. It’s not a big difference but it could have an impact on home ice advantage if they make it to the later rounds … that is if there is home ice advantage for Canadian teams. 

Hopefully, they will be able to travel to the States, and the American teams will be able to travel to Canada. 

… After all, we’ve been letting planes land in Canada from all over the world. Yet these hockey players, who are on chartered flights and get tested for COVID every day, are not allowed to cross the border. 

There is some faulty thinking there!

… Anyway, I digress. 

My point is that my team has not gotten out of the first round of the playoffs in 17 years. Losing your last two games of the season is not a good omen. 

You can’t be pumped up for the playoffs when you were pretty flat in your last two games. 

And if it’s a matter of trying to stay healthy and not getting hurt, well, the physical play is going to ramp up now. You might as well get ready for it. 

Overall, the Leafs have played well this year. They have proved they can hold on to the top spot. 

Why not prove to yourselves and show all the other teams your confidence by ending the season strong?

Here’s the thing: There is something that COVID may contribute to and that is you limping along in your faith. It is easy during this time to coast along, maybe even relax in some of your spiritual disciplines. You just find yourself underwhelmed in your faith. You started so strong in the Lord but during this time you are fading spiritually. Don’t let that happen. Find a new gear and pour yourself into your relationship with Christ. Finish strong.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What has fallen flat for you during COVID? Leave your comments and questions below.

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Hockey Is Like A Drug To Me

The title of this post is not completely accurate – really it is the Toronto Maple Leafs that are like a drug to me … and not necessarily in a good way. 

To make this analogy work, hockey would be the needle and the Leafs would be the drug.

It seems like every year, come playoff time, I inject myself with this drug and I overdose. 

I’m not talking about watching too much of the Leafs, or watching too much hockey in general.  I’m talking about OD’ing with my emotions. 

You see, a drug is supposed to give you some euphoric feeling – like everything is groovy, everything feels more real, and you can be like superman. And I’m sure you’ve heard all the other descriptions of how some drugs manifest in an addict. 

I do call myself an addict here because I can’t seem to stop taking the drug. 

And like a true addict, I don’t admit that I have a problem at all, even when the symptoms are pointed out to me.

But the day of the game, I’m a little agitated. I can’t tell you why – maybe I got up on the wrong side of the bed; maybe I didn’t get enough sleep the night before.

Maybe it’s just that the Leafs are playing Boston tonight in game 4 of the playoffs … and the drug is flowing through my veins, rapidly making its way through my corpuscles to my heart. 

I know this because, by the time dinner rolls around, I’m not just a little hangry because I need food. There is way more going on than that.

I’m nervous like a junky who’s late for his fix. I can’t really sit still, so I pace between rooms, semi-listening to Lily tell me what has happened during her day, and trying to pick up on the predictions and analysis of the pregame show on TV.

I’m like a caged lion on the prowl … and it’s uncontrollable. 

When the game starts, I’m all tense. It’s like I have a rubber band around my arm and my veins are starting to pop for my injection.

And that is when I overdose. 

I never hit that high where everything is going to be all right. I never get that sense of sailing on silver clouds. … Maybe you get that reference, but it doesn’t matter. You know that this is a bad trip I’m on. 

And it lasts about two and a half hours. 

Well, that is not exactly true. If the Leafs lose, I go into a downer and then you might as well not talk to me, talk around me, or make comments, funny or otherwise. 

I’ve bottomed out.  

If the Leafs win, well it’s not like it was a great trip I was on. It’s just a relief that it’s over and I’m happy I’m still alive or that the Leafs are still alive in the playoffs. 

At any rate, I’m left feeling alone in my addiction. No one in my family really understands.

Here’s the thing: Two thousand years ago, Jesus was feeling much like I do. But His passion was for us – a love for everyone that He had in abundance – so much so that He endured all kinds of emotional and physical angst and pain. No one understood. He went through those agonizing hours to pay for the sins of the world – your sin, my sin – not just for a win, but for eternity. Christ died on the cross for you. Think on that this Easter.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What has you all tied up but you can’t give up? Leave your comments below.

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Fans Can Be Sneaky

Fans are sneaky because you don’t know where they will turn up.

For this post and next(click here), I’m going to write about fans – not the kind that cool you down, but the kind that cheer you on.

The fans I’m focussing on are the Toronto Maple Leaf fans. One reason I’ll focus on them is that I’m a fan and the other reason is that they are an interesting group.

Recently the Leafs made a western road trip, including games in Calgary, Vancouver and Edmonton. The most interesting thing about these games was the number of Toronto Maple Leaf fans in each arena.  

Everywhere the Leafs play, there are blue and white jerseys in the crowd. In Florida it’s understandable because it’s winter and mostly Canadians from Ontario go to the hockey games there. 

But there are Leaf fans everywhere. 

On this particulate western road swing, the Leaf jerseys at these three hockey towns rivalled those of the home crowd.

In each arena there were “Go Leafs Go” chants that the home crowd had a hard time overpowering. 

In Calgary, at one point, there were “Freddie, Freddie, Freddie” chants for the Leafs’ goalie. …This kind of chanting never happens where the opposing goalie is being cheered like a hero.  

It was unbelievable. 

In Vancouver, where the Leafs lost in overtime, the announcer commented, “Well, at least half the crowd are going home happy tonight.” … It’s pretty rare – or I should say never – that there are as many opposing fans in the seats as hometown die hards.

Maybe you could point out that the Super Bowl is filled with fans from both sides. That might be true, but the Super Bowl is played in a neutral stadium.

This is a unique phenomenon … perhaps because the Leafs haven’t won the Stanley Cup in 51 years. 

Some people say that other Canadian teams share the same kind of fan support, so maybe this is a Canadian phenomenon. 

But it can’t be that. 

… Sure, the Blue Jays are supported by fans right across the country and, when Toronto was in the American League championship a few years ago, the teams they faced could feel the whole country was behind them. It was like a whole country was playing a single city’s team. 

But the Jays are the only MBL team in Canada, so it makes sense that there would be fans across the country. 

The Raptors basketball team are the same. Many people are going to cheer for a team from their country first. 

The fan support for the Toronto Maple Leafs is different. 

In each city the Leafs play in, there is a team that the locals are passionate about. Yet, blue and white jerseys pop out of the woodwork and rival the locals’ passions and love for their team.

Fans may be sneaky, but with Leaf fans you can bet they are going to show up.

Here’s the thing: There are people all over the world who have put their faith in Jesus Christ. They are sneaky because you can’t tell who they are. They don’t wear jerseys with emblems on them in a certain colour. But you know that almost everywhere you go, there are those who raise their hands to Jesus. They come from countries where other gods are honoured, but they remain strong in their faith and in support of the one true God. There’s an army of Christian believers who are all cheering and praising our God in Heaven … Are you one of them?

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: How faithfully do you stand up for your Saviour? Leave your comments below.

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Here’s A Quick Way To Change Your Perspective

Getting back into an old routine is like slipping into your favourite sweat pants. There is something about it that feels right – it’s comfortable; it’s where you belong.

wings&DP.001

That was me Saturday night: a quick trip to my wing joint to pick up my hot wings, and then home to settle into the hockey game on TV.

It’s what I do on Saturday nights. My wife, Lily has come to accept it and even puts in her order for a half pound of honey garlic wings. It all happens around the TV – wings, a can of Dr. Pepper, and the Leafs on Saturday night.

I went the whole fall and part of the winter last year having to find something else to do on Saturday nights, but man, it just feels so good to have the games back on!

This year I have my red light to announce the goals as if I was at the game itself. The red light flashes like a goal light and I get a big sounding fog horn to boot!

This past Saturday night was very interesting. The red light actually went off before the puck was in the net. Mind you, it was only about two seconds before each goal went in, but it was early for all four goals, and two shoot out goals as a bonus.

You saw the play develop with the potential of a goal, and then the horn went off and the light came on just before the goal went in. I was celebrating before the players on the ice were! I knew they scored before they did … well, maybe.

I found myself anticipating goals, thinking to myself, “This could be it!” And then, before the play was over, I knew it wasn’t going to be a scoring play. I didn’t get all that excited about a great shot because I knew it wasn’t going in before the puck got to the net.

So, in some ways, I was able to prepare myself for what was or wasn’t going to happen around the net of the opposing team. I was able to manage my emotions better, and not get too disappointed when things didn’t work out.

Being able to tell the future really had me watching the game differently than normal. I wish my red light could have told me a little more in advance, but even two seconds was pretty good.

It’s hard to describe the feeling that I had – maybe satisfaction, or confidence, or insight – in watching the game unfold before me … especially during the shoot out when I knew what was going to happen.

It was a new experience for me, and a great outcome for my team. The Leafs have started the season 3 and 0 – not too shabby.

Here’s the thing: The Bible gives us a glimpse into the future, though it is on a macro scale and not a micro one like the hockey game Saturday night. Even so, with knowledge of the future, it allows us to prepare for what’s to come, to celebrate even before it happens and have a sense of satisfaction, confidence or insight as the future unfolds. Those are some good reasons to know what’s in the Bible. Read on.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: How would knowing the future impact your life? Leave your comment below.