Being Grounded

It’s Rockport, Texas after Hurricane Harvey. The small town was desolated. In the words of a young football player, “It looks like a bomb went off.” The Rockport- Fulton Pirates looked out of their homes and nothing looked familiar. Homes were gone. Streets torn up. Trees strewn across lawns and highways. Landmarks whisked away. It would have been easy to get stuck in the overwhelm of devastation.

After a day or two, Coach, J.D. Madrano said these high school kids started showing up for practice. They weren’t about to get stuck. He noted: “It (football) keeps them grounded.” Before they could begin, however, the team cleared brush from more than 60 homes. As one teammate said, “Nothing will ever stop us working as a family.” And the entire town is family now. No one is stuck without help. Everyone is grounded, having a task to perform and a determination to help others.

To paraphrase Steve Hartman on CBS Sunday Morning: Whoever said football is just a game never met these kids.

It all starts with being grounded.

What keeps you grounded? A friend? A group dear to your heart? Or something much bigger than yourself? For me, it begins with my early morning walk alongside MacDuff. This movement sets the tone for the day and clears my mind. If I’m without it, that lost, stuck feeling creeps in. Nothing quite goes right. Another plus: nothing quite like taking a walk with your dog. MacDuff discovers magic where none exists to my eyes (or in my ability to sniff things out). After this, I can proceed with my day, being a service to others as well as I can.