Until the Final Whistle

Bear with me if you are not a sports fan.  I promise you it’s worth it.

In what was likely the most bizarre play of the college football season and maybe one of the most unbelievable plays of the decade, No. 7 Michigan State took down No. 12 Michigan, 27-23, on the last play of the game, picking up a fumble on a punt that should have been the final play, sealing a win for the underdog Wolverines.

It was talked about all day Saturday and Sunday and likely will be dissected every day this week.  It will be in the highlight reel at the end of the season, Sports Center Top 10, and likely even make an appearance at the annual ESPN sports awards, the ESPYS.

The game for all intensive purposes was over.  Only a few seconds left on the clock.  All that needed to happen was for the Michigan punter to get off the punt, send it down field and let it go out of bounds.  That’s it.  Game over.  And Michigan would claim victory over Michigan State while at the same time ruining their rival’s perfect record.  It was over.

There’s only one problem.  Someone forgot to tell Michigan State it was over.  So instead of walking through another punt – one like all the others in practice or games before – Michigan State played until the final whistle.

In a recent post (you can find it here) I wrote about a couple of jars of marbles that I have at home.  They contain marbles that represent each week in the year for my children.  Each Monday I open the jars and take a marble out and carry them in my pocket all week.  They are a reminder of how important my children are; they also remind me of what should have the most value in my life.

I forgot to mention the jar of marbles I have in my office.  As of this morning, after I removed one for this week, there are 704 marble remaining – one for each week until my preschooler graduates high school and moves on to live a life governed by his decisions instead of mine.

So what does the Michigan vs. Michigan State game have to do with my giant jar of marbles?  Let me tell you.  This week I had the privilege of hearing Josh Shipp speak at a conference.  You may not be familiar with him, but he is a speaker and motivator who wants to help adults understand the power and influence that they can have in the lives of young people.

Josh was a product of the foster system and spent most of his adolescent life getting shipped from one home to the next, causing problems and intentionally trying to get kicked out.  He shared that it got so bad that he kept a notebook, where in it he kept track of how long it took him to get kicked out.  And each time he reached a new home he would see if he could beat his best score.

I would love to share with you more of Josh’s story but what I want to share with you is that even though his foster parents didn’t have a jar of marbles sitting in their office, they had a limited amount of time to make an impact.  They knew that once he graduated and moved on they would no longer have the ability to influence him in the same way – to encourage him and pour into him like they could now.

And although Josh had made up his mind since day one to make his foster parent’s lives a living hell – he was unable to break them.  They continued to show him patience, and kindness and they demonstrated to him that he had value and that he was loved.

At the conference Josh shared a story about how after his foster parents bailed him out of jail during his senior year of High School, his foster dad said to him “Josh, when will you get it through your head, we don’t view you as a problem.  We see you as an opportunity.”  For whatever reason that conversation made a huge impact with Josh.  He called it his turning point.  It was that moment when everything changed. 

So what does Josh’s story have to do with marbles and Michigan vs. Michigan State?  Everything.  You see it was only 26 weeks until Josh would graduate and move out.  If Josh’s parents had a jar of marbles … those 704 marbles would have been down to only 26. 

It would have been easy for them to say that Josh could never change, that he would never care, that he would never make anything of his life.  But they didn’t give up.  They played until the final whistle, just like Michigan State.

You may or may not connect with college football.  You may or may not want to carry marbles around in your pockets, but what I do hope you connect with this idea:

As long as there is time left – you can still make a difference.

I’m not sure what you’re going through with your kids, but remember whatever it is there’s time. 

There’s time to make sure they know they are loved.  There is time to make sure they know how much you care.  There is time to find some help.  There is time to break an addiction or a habit.  There is time to help them find their faith.  There is time to make an impact.  There is time to make a difference.

Just don’t give up. 

Go until the marbles run out.

Keep playing until you hear the final whistle.