We are with You, Detroit

As a resident of Detroit, I saw the excitement for the Lions to win this most recent game right in their own city. Working outside of Detroit, the excitement reached even those residents. It felt like a win for the Lions was more than just a win for our state football team, it would mean a win for us as individuals.

So many Michiganders would look into my eyes and say “Oh those Lions!” with a combination of joy, excitement and a tinge of a bittersweet tear lingering. Redemption, vindication. Remember that moment when your heart broke into two? The fracture echoed so loudly in your chest it felt like an earthquake in your body. This win would be the golden thread to sew it back together. The thread that said, yes I lost in the past, but what I have gained today means more than that loss ever will.

The Lions are a true rags to riches story; after years of loss they have spent the last two years riding the high of success and notoriety. In a way, the Lions are our own testament. So many of us have lost. We know the pain of losing a job, a loved one, a large amount of money, or a relationship. For others, loss is all we know. Could we ever live in a way that would allow us to bank some money? Are we going to be living paycheck to paycheck, forever? I wonder if this will be the year our lover doesn’t stab us in the back. I wonder if our insurance company will cover this medical bill. Will we ever wake up and not feel tired? When will the fight be over?

If our life was a book, there would be at least one chapter deemed “The Struggle.” It would be about fighting through the challenges of making mistakes and gaining wisdom from it. Many of us have greater than one chapter of struggle and wisdom gained. All in all, here we stand today like a lion; we are triumphant and have become better for it. We are ready for the win.

The Lions loss last night begs us to uncover our eyes from the pain of loss. As we cringe from the sting, it is important for us to stand up just like we would after a fall. We are not strangers walking in the dark. We know ourselves and we know each other. Most importantly, we know the face of loss as well as the face of triumph; we look at it everyday when we see ourselves in the mirror. Every perfect gift was not first gained without a walk through adversity, and the greater our stamina is tested the stronger we become.

On this day of grieving, I just ask that we not look for a place to find blame or waste even a second by speaking in hindsight rhetoric. We are who we are only because of the fire that has singed us, making us glow wildly in the dark. I challenge you to find your brothers and sisters baptized by that same light. This is not a moment to break apart but to be welded closer together.