The National Spelling Bee

The thrill of victory and the agony of defeat. It was all on display at the national spelling bee. Did you get a chance to watch any of this? The kids are very very very bright. This is a strong gene pool. They study to get ready for the moment, when they stand up, on national TV and are given a word to spell. Most of the words that they have to spell, maybe all of the words that they are given to spell, we have never heard of. The boy that won last night, won with the word "serrefine." And to make it worse, when he heard it, he was familiar with it, and had no problem spelling it. Whatever. My kid could beat him in arm wrestling.

Anyway, if they get the word right, the crowd errupts in applause. If they miss the word, they hear a bell. I would call it the classroom teachers desk bell. It is a "ring for service" kind of bell. Well they hate to hear the bell. It means that they are out of the competition. Single elimination and on national TV. No second chances, no national attention, no $35,000 in cash. They have worked on this for months and it is very discouraging when the bell sends them packing.

So, I am watching this one boy. They give him a word that he has never heard of. Like all contestants, he does everything he can to figure it out. He asks the allowed questions. "Are there alternate pronunciations?" "What is the language of origin?" "Can you use it in a sentence?"

He thinks. He thinks some more. He is nervous. He has no clue. He draws with an imaginary pencil on the back of the number plack hanging around his neck. He asks for extra time. Finally he cautiously says the word and spells it.

In his mind, he is already done. Finished. Cooked. On the plane home. You can see the worry in his eyes and hear the concern in his voice. He has no clue. He has never heard of this word. He is expecting to hear the bell. He is going to be cut from the team. Stick a fork in it, he is done.

But instead, from the floor, he hears the sound of two hands coming together. Then more clapping. Then the room breaks out in applause.

I am not sure if I can describe the emotion of the moment or the look on his face. I imagined his brain thinking, "thank you God, I am saved!" The agony of a few moments before is now replaced by a jubilation that is akin to the feeling you get when your team pulls it out in the bottom of the ninth inning. It is what you feel when you are stopped by the police and only given a warning. When you see someone that you expect to be ugly to you, but instead they come give you a warm welcome and a hug. When your kids gets a full ride scholarship to college [wouldnt that be nice.]

As I watched all of this, it reminded me of how a person feels when they finally come to believe that God loves them.

So many people that I talk to feel bad about themselves. They are down, they are discouraged. The voices in the back of their head tell them that they are no good. They go thru the day with their heads hanging down.

Then, somehow, for some reason, they finally understand. They have heard it hundreds of time, but finally they get it. Instead of hearing the bell declaring them a loser, they hear applause. Condemnation is over, grace has begun. Rejection is replaced with love. When people hear the voice of God telling them that they are loved, they hop up and down. They experience a joy unspeakable. They truly know the thrill of victory. They are alive to the day in a new way.

I hope you know that you are loved by God. And by me. And by others. You matter. You do not deserve the bell, you deserve applause. Receive it. Rise up in joy! Sieze the day! You are a winner. God loves you.

It is a beautiful day in God's world, be sure to see the good.