Artificial Markers

ACQUIRE AS NEEDED (daily) January 9

NFL Wild Card Saturday

At 10 AM this morning, I was excited and hopeful; by noon, I thought anything was possible, but by 130 PM, I was dejected and accepting reality. "Colts played a good game - just not good enough!" My father texted me after the game. I had Rivers, Taylor and Hilton in my DraftKings lineup, though I wish I'd played Pascal instead of T.Y. Bills won by three, 27 - 24.

While the Seahawks took the field at an empty Lumen Field against the Rams of Los Angeles, I drove north with my two eldest to spend some time with a family friend. While we visited, we watched the Rams defense stunt Russell Wilson and the Seahawks' offense. After fighting tooth and nail for 20 points, the Rams had scored 30 with a punishing running attack from Cam Akers. Meanwhile, my buddy was launching a punishing attack on my children in some video game with cartoon worms. Having started its backup QB due to Jared's fragile thumb, a recovering Goff had to play three quarters when Wofford got jacked early in the game and couldn't play. Rams 30 - 20 Seahawks.

The final game of the night marqueed the oldest quarterback to start a playoff game in NFL history on one side and a quarterback who signed to his team's practice squad a month ago on the other. The disparity in level of on-field experience was acute. Though Taylor Heinicke played above his mean, the Buccaneers' 8-point victory seemed somewhat easy. Though Tom could never quite pull away, Ryan Succop (Bucs' kicker) kept the Football Team at bay. Tampa Bay 31 - 23 Washington.

While the first three matchups of NFL playoffs held the day, there were eight NBA games as well. Round 3 of the opening 2021 PGA tourney played all afternoon. WTA hosted the first sanctioned tennis tourney of the year in Abu Dhabi, Round 2 finished up this morning and Round 3 started tonight, about 40 minutes ago. As one who watches competitive athletics, I gauge the passing of time by the changing of the sports seasons. By January, we're typically in the beginning weeks of NBA and NHL seasons. This year, hockey starts this coming Wednesday, while basketball is about ten games in.

We've recently changed the calendar year and completed another 365-day cycle. In Portland, we notice the waxing and waning of daylight around the solstice in drastic measure. I'm reminded again how we highlight artificial markers to maintain control of our surroundings. Endless statistical records keep sports fans entertained in dispute. It's really a short menu: wins and losses. We celebrate the nativity of a Savior that splits our most recent attempt at time-keeping on a day that's more related to terrestrial movement than Jesus' date of birth. Time and money are just currencies we use to manipulate the other, while often ignoring the things of real value worth trading. I wonder who guides our attention.

Accepting and promoting the Kingdom of God requires attention to detail and, perhaps, an indifference to certain cultural, secular and worldly expectations. The King is coming. The call is clear. The menu is short: hit or miss the mark. This is bakesHere.