Scrooge is alive and well … in Dallas

You never know when your actions will crush innocence, break relationship, or simply disappoint. 

A case in point is a friend of mine who was in Amarillo, TX visiting his parents for Christmas.  Last weekend he and his wife were in Dallas to do some shopping and see the Dallas home game against the Eagles.  Now my friend is a BIG Dallas fan and has just finished a 5 year run living in  and “endurring” Redskin territory AND his childhood hero is Troy Aikman.  Well, as you might expect, Mr. Aikman was broadcasting the game for Fox Sports that day and … well, I will let you read about the encounter yourself … http://thinkspot.wordpress.com/2007/12/18/my-brush-with-stardom-part-1/.

I will give Mr. Aikman the fact that having someone throw something up into the broadcast booth is probably NOT something you want to get started in a crowd of a few thousand of your “closest friends”.  However, what Mr. Aikman should have taken into account was 1) the guts it took to do what my friend did and 2) the approximate age of my friend (would have been a youth/teenager when Mr. Aikman actually played for Dallas).

You see Mr. Aikman had options.  My friend had none.  Mr. Aikman could have sent a “production assistant” down to get the shirt, sign it during a commercial and had it back to my friend with the most minimal of effort on his part.  My friend, on the other hand, had no option other than to take a chance on someone he had greatly admired since childhood.

Now it is true that we are not responsible for other people’s views and expectations of us.  However, we do have opportunities.  Opportunities to be the best we can be (which is all about including others in our lives especially if they are unknown to us - Luke 6:31-33) and to live in every moment intentionally as if our lives depended upon it.

In the “grand scheme of things” my friend’s encounter with Troy Aikman will be blip on the radar, but make no mistake - my friend WAS wounded.  Childhood heroes go down hard.  Never again will he think of or feel about Mr. Aikman in the same way.  Though he will most likely still remain a fan of Mr. Aikman, Mr. Aikman’s image has now been tarnished by embarrassment, pain and disappointment.  We all hope our heroes are the men and women we believe them to be and we are wounded when we find out they are not.

Are you a hero to someone?  Maybe not like Troy Aikman but in your own way, in your own place in the world?  If you are, remember my friend’s encounter with Mr. Aikman.  Reach out and be the best you can be every moment of every day.  You just never know whose life, for good or for ill,  may be affected by your actions.

And remember, especially at this time of the year, that there is really only One who will never fail us.  Merry Christmas!