team Canada

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The Trigger That Ignites Your Interest

You need a trigger to create excitement for something you haven’t really cared much about. 

the trigger that ignites your interest

You can get interested in something that you wouldn’t normally be focused on, but you first need something that will peak your interest. 

Way back in high school the TV was a magnet for me. I would come home after school, grab three or four cookies from the tin my mom had hidden, and flop on the couch to watch television. 

We only had a black and white TV so I was not watching in “living colour” as NBC advertised. One of my favourite shows was Perry Mason, so it didn’t matter that we only had a black and white TV. That show was filmed in black and white. It was a who-done-it show where Perry Mason, the lawyer, defended the cases. He always won.

At some point they changed the time of the show to a half hour later. Instead of coming home and doing homework, or something crazy like that, I just watched whatever was on before my show. 

I had never seen a soap opera before, but with a half hour to kill before Perry Mason, I started watching the “Edge of Night” …  da da da dum. 

Something I had had no interest in suddenly caught my interest and, for a while, I religiously followed the Edge of Night and knew all the characters.

The trigger for me was that I had time to kill before watching what I really wanted to see. I got sucked into watching what was before it and I got hooked – interested. 

The same thing has happened to me with the FIFA World Cup this month. 

When I was in college, I played soccer … or football as they say in the rest of the world. In fact, my college team won the Saskatchewan Provincial Championships in 1984. We went on to play in Toronto at the National College Championships. I was injured most of the season that year but I did get in a little action in one of the games.

So I know soccer. Also both my kids played some soccer and I watched them play in high school. 

… But I have to tell you, it’s not my favourite sport. 

I didn’t mind playing it, but watching it is tiresome. The biggest reason is they don’t score enough goals. The goals that are scored are often spectacular and the skill is amazing, but they just don’t score enough for me. 

So I’ve never really gotten too exited or interested in the World Cup before.

But this year is a different matter. Canada had a team in the tourney and, all of a sudden, I’m into soccer. 

I’m watching highlights of games. I’m watching games that Canada is not even playing in. 

Basically it took Canada making it into the World Cup for me to have enough interest in the game to get excited about it.

Team Canada was my trigger.

Here’s the thing: Life is full with all our activities, work and interests. If God has not been part of your life from an early age, it might be hard to get excited about Him. But there are triggers that can cause us to consider God and then become interested in knowing more about Him. Triggers like discouragement, trouble, heartbreak, sadness, stress and other things can cause us to look for help outside ourselves. Some of these things will come to all of us at some time in our lives. Be sure to seek God for help and comfort and you will find you want to know more about Him and His love for you. 

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What has triggered your interest lately? Leave your comments and questions below.

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Cheered In Such An Unexpected Way

It’s true, I have now been officially cheered up … after having been officially saddened.

cheered in such an unexpected way

… The Toronto Maple Leafs’ loss in game 7 to Montreal was particularly hard to take this year. There was more expectation for the team than ever before. They finished first in their division in I don’t know how long. They were the favourite to come out of the North Division.

So when the Leafs lost to the Habs, I felt a crushing in my spirit. I had a sadness that went deep and didn’t want to leave. 

But the other day I had my sadness lifted. It happened quickly and completely unexpectedly.

Team Canada won the IIWHF World Championships! 

And what cheered me so much about this win was how they did it. 

They were not favoured to win. My wife, Lily, had asked me who was on the team and I had replied, “You won’t know anyone.” There were only a few names I knew. No superstars on this team. 

Early on the team didn’t look good at all. They lost their first three games – a first for Canada.

It was ugly; they looked ugly.

One of our play-by-play announcers was interviewed on Swedish television and was asked if he was embarrassed by Team Canada. 

Team Canada went on to record 4 losses in the round robin portion of the tournament. 

It didn’t look good.

To get into the medal round, Team Canada needed a combination of a tie in regulation in their last game and two other teams deciding their games in regulation. 

It was a nail biter, but miraculously Canada managed to squeak into the quarter finals.

And from there the competition would just get more intense. This team that snuck into the playoff round had to face Russia and then the USA. 

It was a daunting task.

But Canada started to come alive and beat both those teams to make it to the gold medal game. 

The unthinkable had happened. How did they turn it around?

Who knows, but one Russian player commented, “Somehow when Canadians put on the Team Canada jersey they get better.”

Canada trailed Finland twice in the gold medal game, but tied it up both times. The game went to overtime and about six minutes in Canada scored to win the gold. 

Canada is the first team to ever start the World Tournament 0-3 and finish as champions. And no team in IIHF history at any top-level event has ever won gold after losing four games. 

Well, Canada did it with a bunch of guys you’ve never heard of, and a few you will hear about in the coming years. 

I’m proud of these guys. They stuck to it and didn’t give up. They just kept at it and formed together as a team until they won. 

It’s official: I am cheered.

Here’s the thing: There is a lot in life that can make you sad, disappoint you, and send you into a downward spiral. No one likes being there and sometimes it’s really difficult getting out of that condition. You need to know that God is the God of all comfort. When you are down, turn to Him, go to Him, trust Him with your sadness, worry and depression. He can lift you up out of it. It doesn’t seem possible and He does it in miraculous ways, but He can put joy back into your life in the midst of despair. Seek Him. 

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What has put you in the doldrums lately? Leave your comments and questions below.

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It Really Was A Bittersweet Night

Last night I experienced the bittersweet feeling of winning and losing at the same game.

My wife, Lily, and I have a weekly standing date of attending the OHL Kingston Frontenacs’ home games.

Friday, as usual, we shared some popcorn and watched the action on the ice.

But it was a little different because, while our boys were playing in Kingston, the Canadian Junior hockey team was playing in Buffalo for a gold medal in the annual World Juniors tournament.

We got to see some great hockey in front of us, but in the back of my mind I was wondering how our national team was doing.

Part way through the game it was announced over the PA system that Canada was up 1-0.

That was some comfort, but the battle on the ice in front of us was intense.

Our boys were really playing well and dominating in many respects, but it was just a one goal game at the end of the first period.

In the second period, our guys were flying and scored two goals to put our team ahead 3-1 by the end of the period.

Back in the gold medal game, there was no more news … but when your team is ahead, no news is also good news.

Team Sweden was considered the team to beat. They had run the table in the regular round; in fact, they hadn’t lost in the regular round in 11 years.

Team Canada had one shootout loss to the United States in a snowy, outdoor affair that left all the Canadian fans chilled.

Now we were battling for the gold medal and we were ahead in the scoring.

Lily and I took a stroll around the arena at the end of the second period of the Frontenacs’ game. There was a calm, happy, “we have this game in the bag” kind of feeling in the air.

There was no hint of any trouble ahead until the start of the third period. The Fronts seemed a little flat – no energy, not skating well … and in the span of about five minutes, the Spitfires scored three goals and were up 4-3.

It happened so quickly; it was a shocker.

The rest of the period our boys threw a lot of rubber towards the Windsor net, but we couldn’t buy a goal and lost the match.

Just a five minute let down was all it took.

After the bitter loss we witnessed on ice, the arena switched to the World Junior game on the big screen.

We watched until the end of the second period where, with five minutes left, Sweden scored to tie it up.

All I could think was, “not another let down!”

Since I’m the Fronts’ team chaplain, we then left the stands to go chat with our boys. By the time we were done, there was just ten minutes left in the gold medal game so we headed back into the stands to watch.

With just under two minutes to play, Team Canada scored.

There was a celebration, not on the ice but on the big screen. We pocketed an empty-netter to seal the deal, and Canada won the gold medal.

At the same arena we watched our hometown team lose and then our Canadian team win gold. It was truly a bittersweet night. But it ended with the sweet!

Here’s the thing: There is a verse in the Bible that says you can win the whole world but forfeit your soul. That’s life’s bittersweet reality. Make sure your soul is secure so that in the end, when life is all over, you experience the sweet of Heaven.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What would be bittersweet for you? Leave your comments below.