Stay here and keep watch with me. -- Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane

I'm not sure high school football players fall exactly under the category of the wisdom of "children" but they sure did show this middle aged woman the meaning of team.

Our wonderful neighbor invited us to the local high school football game to see her son play. I felt silly bringing a coat and long scarf but I underestimated the autumn chill of Kansas wind and ended up under dressed. The generosity of a shared blanket saved the night and I thoroughly enjoyed the sense of community support for our hometown football team.

They lost pretty badly but never stopped trying. It wasn't about winning in the bleachers where spirits were good and popcorn was passed back and forth. Open grass and open sky backdropped the game. Warmish hot chocolate. An atmosphere of neighborly welcome. The cheer squad chants, a sunset, and the stars.

The overall good time only interrupted by our collective worry when one of our players was injured and had to be carted off to the ambulance. A dislocated elbow, it turned out. His teammates gathered on the sidelines the whole time the paramedics attended him. Each and every player down on a bent knee.

It made me think how hard it is to be there in the midst of hurt or crisis and how much I learned from watching those young men simply stay present and in focus for their teammate. Sometimes I am weary or I feel burdened or I fail people because I simply don't want to be the one, the steadfast one. The one who shows up and listens. It's hard to resist the urges to preach or to fuss or to judge when someone is in need or in crisis.

But those boys know what's what. They remained there. Quiet and somber, they took a knee and stayed for their friend. Proving the best thing we can do is settle in and just be there for someone in pain. It's the one thing Jesus asked for when his heart ached.

The game picked up again. We lost. But we scored last. And I went home with a lesson more valuable than victory.