Cowboy Thinking

Football is back! Amidst all that is going on in our world today, there’s a bit of a spring in my step with football season finally here. I had my eyes glued on the Dallas Cowboys and Tampa Bay Buccaneers game Thursday night.

Since I was old enough to know what a cowboy was, I declared that I would be a Dallas Cowboy fan for life. To add to my craziness, I was intent on moving to Dallas, Texas after college because I wanted to be near my Dallas Cowboys. A true story that became reality.

Being a Cowboy fan has had its ups and downs, for sure. Most of us are aware of the “downs". But that game on Thursday night with the Buccaneers gave me a renewed hope that maybe THIS year, things would be different. Maybe THIS year, they could make their way to the Super Bowl. What could stop them? (TBD)

With plenty of years on this planet, I’ve learned to adjust my thinking on what’s important. As much as I love my Cowboys, if they don’t win, I’m gonna be just fine and not lose sleep over it. I’m learning to have more of an eternal perspective, with my eyes fixed on heaven. So, it’s like I have a foot here on the earth, but one in heaven as well. Maybe, I’ve learned that from seeing the emptiness of earthly things. It reminds me of Paul’s words in Colossians 3:1-3:

"Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God.” Colossians 3:1-3

The believer is to “seek the things above.” “It literally means to aspire to, desire and seek with passion. In order to seek these things, the mind must be set on them.” (Morgan) As I grow older, I desire even more to aspire to the things of heaven and meditate and dwell upon Christ’s life.

I remember a tough season in my life where I longed to be married and the people I spent the most time with were married women with kids. My mind was constantly questioning my unique circumstance. Had God forgotten me? What about me? How do I live among this community and thrive? It was a challenging season for sure, but God gave me this exact verse, Colossians 3:1-3, to live by. I took it to heart. I lived it. I learned to thrive as a single in my environment.

It’s so very easy to let our minds, circumstances, and realities of our day take us down a “stinkin’ thinking” mindset. We set our minds on the realities around us. These realities will eventually fade away. Sports teams. What people think of us. Politics. Status in life. How people fail us. The list goes on and on.

Today, you and I have a choice. Will we seek the things above? I’m all for a Cowboy win, don’t get me wrong. I gotta’ keep my eyes on Him.

Nancy Abbott is the Chaplain of the YMCA of Greater San Antonio.