THE AGONY OF DEFEAT
“The thrill of victory is worth the risk of the agony of defeat.” – Mike Tauriainen, civil engineer, former Crowell player at UAF.
Spokanites are grieving Gonzaga’s heart breaking give away loss to Syracuse.
Michigan State fans remain in shock at the Spartans seeded 2 loss to 15 seed Middle Tennessee.
Seattle Seahawks loyalist will go to their graves hung up over the fatal pass that cost them the Super Bowl.
56 years years ago, my high school team lost in the semi-finals. It was a day of agony. Still conjures up what ifs.
Is my buddy, Mike, right? Is the thrill of the victors cup worth the risk of the agony of defeat?
Bonhoeffer said in effect, “The greater the love the greater the loss.” The more skin you have in the game, business, or relationship; the greater the agony.
My Alaska friends Mike and Loren, lost their only daughter in a rock climbing accident. I saw Loren at a basketball game in Anchorage. One look was a graphic picture of agony.
Susie says, “When you have massive loss, the pain never departs; it becomes ordinary.”
For some, the agony of pain is not worth the risk. Safety is the highest priority.
For some this means no marriage.
For others, it means remaining in a terrible job.
Too many choose not to love deeply.
My life has been marked by many failures. There have been defeats of agony.
This I tell you, each breath I take for as long as I can breathe, Fred Crowell seeks the thrill of victory and declares, “Bring on the agony for it is in the pain you truly find life at its best.”
I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. Galatians 2:20
