So I've waited a lifetime to be at Duke for the storied Duke-Carolina Game.
And the excitement hasn't hit me until now.
Granted I truly love my Blue Devils and I CHERISH the memories that they have made which are like patchwork pieces of my life. But this year my heart has been caught up in the mix of trying to understand where all of the emotion comes from--how we make something so small so big. How we wrap our identity into which shade of blue you pull for. How these false identities cover up truth: 1) that our identity is really covered and influenced by how we see God and 2) that every game is a good game to watch your favorite team--especially for me when it comes to Cameron.
So where does this excitement come from? Why now?
It started when I saw the campus covered in blue. I woke up this morning tired, but I still got up and put on my blue. The K-ville residents who have been sleeping outside for days and weeks are also in their blue. Our lecture hall was filled with blue.
There is something about shared experience. Commonality. It makes you a community and that is where the enthusiasm comes from--the them vs. us.
I got excited when I saw the suffering spirits of those Crazies whose airbed mattresses and sleeping bags litter the sidewalk. At first I wanted to think that there was NO WAY that I'd want to go out and engage in suffering in that way. But then I remember camping out and having the sheer joy that came through suffering with others. I'll never forget reading from an excerpt on a book about cultures of poverty about the importance of how the oppressed laugh rather than crying when faced with trials. There is something uniting and energizing about suffering not alone--but with others. It binds you together, uniting spirits. Commonality.
Thanks for the lesson Crazies!
And the excitement hasn't hit me until now.
Granted I truly love my Blue Devils and I CHERISH the memories that they have made which are like patchwork pieces of my life. But this year my heart has been caught up in the mix of trying to understand where all of the emotion comes from--how we make something so small so big. How we wrap our identity into which shade of blue you pull for. How these false identities cover up truth: 1) that our identity is really covered and influenced by how we see God and 2) that every game is a good game to watch your favorite team--especially for me when it comes to Cameron.
So where does this excitement come from? Why now?
It started when I saw the campus covered in blue. I woke up this morning tired, but I still got up and put on my blue. The K-ville residents who have been sleeping outside for days and weeks are also in their blue. Our lecture hall was filled with blue.
There is something about shared experience. Commonality. It makes you a community and that is where the enthusiasm comes from--the them vs. us.
I got excited when I saw the suffering spirits of those Crazies whose airbed mattresses and sleeping bags litter the sidewalk. At first I wanted to think that there was NO WAY that I'd want to go out and engage in suffering in that way. But then I remember camping out and having the sheer joy that came through suffering with others. I'll never forget reading from an excerpt on a book about cultures of poverty about the importance of how the oppressed laugh rather than crying when faced with trials. There is something uniting and energizing about suffering not alone--but with others. It binds you together, uniting spirits. Commonality.
Thanks for the lesson Crazies!
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