I'm a Tiger

Yesterday was "the big game". Carolina Pride on the line. The Gamecocks came away with bragging rights for the year. Don't get me wrong, I cheer for my Tigers and love it when they win but my time at Clemson (THANK YOU LORD!) was NEVER solely about athletics. Listening to some of the "friendly rivalry smack talk" going on even in my church group the last couple of weeks I was reminded how easy it is to get entirely too wrapped up in the temporary; turning good things into God things (idols).
I really loved the dinner blessing a friend of mine gave after another loss earlier this season: "Thank you Lord that our identity is not in a football team". It was meant mostly in jest but it really set my focus back on why I really love Clemson: b/c of what God did in me and for me there. My identity is daughter of the Most High. I learned so much about this during my time at Clemson.
As I've mentioned before here and here: looking back, I recognize that God did a great deal of spiritual maturing in me during my time in TigerTown. Saying I'm a Tiger brings to mind the faces of many brothers and sisters God has used in my life. I was tremendously blessed to share a season with them; to be poured into and blessed to learn from and follow their examples.
It also reminds me of how great my God is. He ordained my steps to allow me to grow in the knowledge of His Truth and to daily experience His character and His love. God showered His grace on me then, knowing exactly where I needed to be in that time in my life. He knew the people I needed to meet, the surroundings I needed to be in, the trials I needed to learn and grow through. So many times God met me where I was. He continues to shower that grace on me now, building on truths; foundations of which were begun in my college years.
Win or lose, I will always say with thankfulness, I am a Tiger. Its so much more than an athletic record....