A LETTER TO MY BOY OF FALL ON YOUR MARRIAGE

Dear Daniel, my boy of fall, #33

(and his new teammate on their wedding day),

Once upon a time, you sat on a Friday night with a team in a locker room, prepping for a game. The fall chill in the air drew a warrior donned in jersey #33, blue and white cleats, decorated helmet, and shoulder pads to a field of stripes.

Linked arm and arm, you stomped to the rhythm of a drum til it called you to a roaring run, crashing the Bulldog banner, splashing as a team together onto the field toward a humming huddle.

Witnesses packed the sidelines with whistles, cheers, and screams heralding a win, defying defeat.

Your determination and resolve covered all 120 yards. Your fierce tuck and rush toward the goal line was a dance of dedication.

How quickly those days came and equally as quickly they have gone. The boys of fall have disbanded and found other fields to master. While those fall nights are not what they used to be, some things, like memories, grow stronger and deeper the longer they live. And those memories of being one of the boys of fall will grow stronger and deeper as you stand now prepping for the game of your life---your marriage to Kayla.

Now, that same fall Friday night determination, dedication, and resolve will be reawakened for every day here forward. 

As your parents, we never really cared what game you played. We just wanted you to experience going hard after something you loved. We wanted you to find joy and hoped you would learn that persevering through difficulty while pursuing a passion brings satisfaction and fulfillment. We knew you would come face-to-face with the sting of defeat more than a time or two, but prayed you sensed that was okay, having given your best fight toward an important win.

And now, here at the beginning of your marriage, your focus is no longer on the lights of Friday nights. Your focus is on tonight, tomorrow, and the rest of your tomorrows together with Kayla.

As your parents, we laid out and rehearsed as best we could, time and again, the pregame strategies you'll need. Believe that you are prepared for the days ahead, never think you are not enough. Occasionally, you might have to sit silent and dig deep to remember those lessons blurred by the sting of circumstances.

Once you walked down the high school hallways in your jerseys as kings. You stood in the huddle and on clap broke to the line in that orange and blue uniform, awaiting the quarterback's call, but today you don a tux of grey and a tie of gold rose and huddle under the prayers of the preacher giving you God's call. Now, may you and Kayla walk proudly crowned as King and Queen of the life you'll create together.

You were focused on training for the big game, down by down. Now from this day forward, you are training to focus on living the big game of life, day by day: a game where each day ticks by fast. Your big win will be creating dreams and working together as a team to make them a reality. But your biggest win will be living a life that brings glory to Him, a life that is fun for both of you on the team, a life that looks for the simple opportunities to make each day a win by moving her heart.

You’re gonna find any number of opponents under hard helmets that sling mud and might try to bury you. Hold on  my young man. You have trained for these moments. Look them hard in the face, and if you need to, talk the trash that will scare the hell out of them, and keep pushing through that hard line.

You've traded the youthful allegiance to your school, your team, your teammates, to the lights, for an allegiance to God's promise to mold you and Kayla together, to battle together as a team through the best and worst of times, to find the many routes to her heart, and to pave a clear path for you and her to run free toward your goals. Dream with your new teammate and continue to work hard for your team. 

When those butterflies of expectations make you feel nauseous, bend to your praying knees and even your arms if you need to. Football taught you that you won't win every time you try, but that defeat will certainly propel the passion to show up again and again for another challenge. 

On those days when you feel like your back is against the wall, when your energy and effort seem exhausted, you might need to tap out for a break. Be willing to ask for it. Be willing to allow Kayla to have your back, to support you, to hold you up in word and deed. Anyone can be a leader and be first to the scrimmage line when things are going great, the test is when you battle through those less than perfect times. Look at where you are standing then. Be sure you're standing with your teammate.

It’s gonna take all your grit, grace, heart, and soul, and you might feel lacking at times, but your weakness gives God, your head Coach, the opportunity to fill you with His strength. You don’t have to have all the answers or do everything right, you know it's most important to be coachable.

Lessons from football will continue to show up in your life. Life is the big game. Live your life with Kayla with pride---pride in your spouse, your life, your future, and in your purpose together.

On this lovely fall October day, where love continues to grow, we wish our once upon a time boy of fall and his new teammate, all the joys and blessings of falling in love.