Just Wanna Be Here

I’ve never been much of a Jay Leno fan.  
I have nothing against him, just never really got into watching him.  
I’ve always seemed to gravitate more towards Dave.  
Maybe it’s our alumni status, bent towards sarcasm, or musical guests.  
But even with that, when EVERYTHING got political I even drifted away from Dave.

I watch a lot of ‘Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives’.  I like to watch food. (which is a topic for another time - I know, I have issues)

I started to watch Leno a couple of weeks before his final show and have come to this conclusion...

Jay Leno is the wisest man in history.

Allow me to explain...

During an interview with Matthew McConaughey, the story is told of the star’s first visit to The Tonight Show.  Leno asked the visibly nervous McConaughey if he wanted to know the secret to a successful show appearance.  McConaughey eagerly said, ‘yes’.

To which Leno replied...

“Just wanna be here.”

That’s when I realized that Jay Leno is a genius. 

See our problem is our propensity to always want to be somewhere else.

Because somewhere else...

doesn’t hurt

isn’t an inconvenience

or wasted time

or effort

or emotion

Because somewhere else...

I’m respected

needed

appreciated

desired

wanted

Because ‘here’ is just a pothole-infested path to somewhere else and better...

Right?

What good could come about by simply wanting to ‘be here’?

Here’s the thing.  
The problem is ‘somewhere else’ will eventually become ‘here’ if we don’t learn something while we’re ‘here’ before we get ‘somewhere else’.

Hang with me.

I used to dream about being considered the world’s greatest drummer.  I would daydream about the travel, the money, the lifestyle.  
Never really panned out.

Here’s what I realized.  I really love to make music.  
I really love to play the drums.

So now, right here, I practice out of the very first book I took drum lessons from.  Why?

I love the drums right here.  
I want to be the best I can be, right here and now, and forget about how the world ranks me.

(I mean seriously, Adam Levine is declared the ‘Sexiest Man Alive’ and I’m not even in the discussion?  The opinions of the world are fickle.)

So you’re on the JV?  No...YOU’RE ON THE JV!!!

You’re in the game.  You’re in the moment.  SEIZE IT!

What are you willing to do to make yourself the best you can be right here, right now?

You’re marriage doesn’t look like the sequel to ‘The Notebook’.  Honestly, whose does?

Just wanna be here.  Honor your commitment.  
Realize its a covenant, not a contract.

Sometimes you’ll want to be anywhere but with your spouse...

And ‘somewhere else’ will start to look really attractive.  Fixate on it long enough and you’ll eventually give yourself permission to move in that direction.

My wife married an idiot, but she’s committed to that idiot.

I’d be afraid to know how many times she’s made the choice to ‘just wanna be here’.

I wanted 2013 to go away as fast as possible.

I wanted to fall asleep (when I could fall asleep) and wake up somewhere else.

Where I didn’t hurt...

or doubt

or hate

or cry

Where I didn’t see friendships crumble.

Dreams die.

Where I didn’t feel like a failure.

Where I wasn’t scared.

I was wrong.

Right here I have...

a loving wife

amazing daughters

good friends

great family

Right here, right now...

I’ve got air in my lungs.

A beat in my heart.

And a spring (albeit somewhat ratchety) in my step.

But most importantly, I have a God who refuses to give up on me.

Who’ll never leave me or forsake me.

A God who whispers His love for me in the swirling of my doubts.

Who roars His promises into the face of my fears.

Who laughs when I fret over man’s plan for me...

because He knows the plans He has for me.

So from this moment on, I wanna be here.

To prove them wrong.

To instill in my kids faith, hope, conviction, and courage.

To make my wife glad she stays.

But mostly...

To be and unleash all that which God has made me to be and become.

To learn what I need to learn.

To change what I need to change.

To be who He created me to be.

To just wanna be here.

So here’s the announcement...

I just wanna be here.

With all the uncertainty and drama, laughter and tears.

I just wanna be here.

Fully engaged with purpose and passion.  
Swinging for the fences in how I live, love, and lead.  
I wanna be here.  
Let the games begin.

Somewhere the enemy just peed a little...

A few days before he passed away, my grandfather told me something I’ve forgotten too often recently...

“When you get the chance to do something, treat it like its the last time you’ll do it.  What mark do you want to leave?”

Or in other words...

Just wanna be here.

Jay Leno is a genius.

This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it

Psalm 118:24 NRSV

Because Everyday Is A Medal Ceremony - Winter Edition 2014

Every four years the Olympics transfix me.

And by transfixed, I mean I will watch sports that I soon will forget are played - for another 4 years.

Seriously...

Curling?

Finally, a sport I’m built for!

Did I miss the strenuous tetherball pool play?

Is Duck, Duck, Goose a summer or winter sport?

I miraculously now have an opinion on whether that landing was 'stuck' or if that person opened up too soon on their triple salchow, like I'd know the difference.

But what draws me in most are the elements of pure human drama.

Sacrifice

Commitment

Pain

Triumph

Tears - of both disappointment and joy

Stands filled with parents cheering on their children.

Contorting their own bodies in a symbiotic tango of a shared moment...from a distance.

Because in the end this is the athletes competition…

their fight

their decision

their disappointment

their victory

their effort

                                                         

Their moment. Period.

Mom and Dad can drive to practice, buy the gear, cheer, and even coach 

(and sometimes we're even qualified to coach!)

Mom and Dad can celebrate… 

and commiserate

But when all is said and done...

They will enter the stadium alone...

While we sit in the stands

Because we are participants in another event: parenting

We prepare our children to enter the arena of the game of life

We teach them how to win, lose, laugh, learn, and love

We can instill in them that the sky is the limit on their potential

or

That they'll never amount to much of anything

By the time the Winter Olympics roll by us again, my oldest will more than likely be out of the house, starting to branch out even more on her own.

So unless the drone surveillance market has hit the consumer level, I won’t be able to hover as nearly as effectively as I do now.

My middle child will be close to graduating from high school.  

She will have probably decided by that time that I know nothing about anything.

My baby will be 14…and crushing hard over some slacker snowboarder.

(I can curmudgeon with the best of them!)

Our window of competing in this game of parenting is relatively short.

There are no off days.  

No phoning it in.

We are to be the ones to tell them there is a God who loves them ferociously…and that same God has amazing plans for them

We are the ones to tell them they are beautiful, smart, creative, and full of awesomeness…

And we are the ones who are to correct their form when they're a little off their game.

So we always need to be willing to check our form as well

I have been blessed with 3 amazingly awesome daughters

Who deserve nothing less than a gold medal caliber Dad

This is the most important thing that I'll ever do

Because everyday's a medal ceremony

Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates. Dt 6:5-9