24 Dates in 2024

24 Dates in 2024 – Date #18

Some of our dates start with resistance. 

I am not a football fan. Watching others hurt each other for sport is difficult for my spirit to digest.  Yes!  I am one of those! 

When Ken mentioned that his alma mater, UAB, was playing at West Point and that he really wanted to go.  It was damn near impossible to say no because he sounded and looked like a college kid who found out that his boys would be in town. 

Date #18 was scheduled at West Point for the UAB and Army football game. The things we do for love!

God is in the little things that aren’t little at all, like the bright sun, the crispy cool air, and the little to no traffic headed North with kisses of the fall season sprinkled through the trees. The day itself was the quintessential fall football day fans beg for.  I could appreciate the setting.

To my surprise, the rest of the day was filled with an easy-breezy joy that resonated with my current thoughts. I knew I would look back on this day fondly as it was happening in real time.

Looking back on our UAB v/ Army game, I  recall the perma-smile on Ken’s face when he saw his alma mater play even though they lost, as if it was their job.

How old friends came together.

How my “mayor of everywhere” made friends in a  360-degree radius with the opposing team fans.

How we sat behind enemy lines, and they cheered for us when UAB finally scored in the last 5 minutes of the game.

How the traditions of a military academy respected the game, team members past and present, and honored opposing teams too. That cannon fire for each touchdown reverberated in my chest and almost sent me to Jesus on the first fire.

How Tom and Diane, complete strangers, adopted us for a few hours and became our official tour guides, making sure we made it to Cadet Chapel.

How we learned that their three children attended West Point,  and it was likely Tom served in Iraq when Ken’s oldest brother did too.

How beautiful it was that Diana wanted to go inside and pray for her children’s marriages. 

How they shared the history of the campus with a sense of pride and appreciation, and they insisted we go “this way” for a shortcut and to get the absolute best view of the campus.

And how we ended up in their car, meeting their daughter, and getting a ride up the mountain.

Date #18 of our 24 dates in 2024 reminded me that kind and joyful people exist in this world in the most unlikely places.