Stephen Yeargin

I listened in the game tonight as the Nashville Predators closed out their home schedule against the Chicago Blackhawks. It was a game with a lot on the line for the Predators as they try to keep pace with St. Louis and stay ahead of Minnesota and Edmonton in the standings. Through the first period, the Predators fought hard and got ahead by a goal going heading into the locker room. But, the tides turned quickly with Chicago scoring twice in the first 50 seconds of the second period. Nashville was stunned, and did not have much to answer for it until the third period when they pulled within one. With less than a minute to go, they put one last effort, the crowd behind them and their goalie heading to the bench for the extra attacker.

Empty net goal. Chicago wins. The Predators are on the outside looking in with only two games remaining.

Is that not how life is at times? We get ahead, get knocked down by the unexpected, fight back, only to still end up behind at very critical moments. The economy certainly has left a number of people feeling that way, with hardworking people finding themselves suddenly out of a job after putting in years and years with their employer; they are let go with a phone call or company-wide memo. Those out of work cannot seem to catch a break either. It has not been much of a year for the underdog, with no Cinderella stories being told. Those that are down-and-out often stay that way these days.

This introspective is not spurred on by anything in particular, just a realization that the limits of our desire to hope for a better tomorrow continue to be tested time and again. We are not living in a time when you can just pick yourself up, dust yourself off and expect to have any better of a chance to succeed. There are people around us who, under normal circumstances, would fight through a tough economy by making those sacrifices and giving it the extra effort. But nothing is harder to take than to be told that your best is just good enough.

At church this past Sunday, a man stood up and asked us all to pray for those who had recently lost jobs and homes. It was a very simple request, but one that many too often forget or choose to ignore. There is awful lot of hurt in our communities, and it would do us all a bit of good to become more aware of and compassionate about it whenever we can. Perhaps a kind word or an uplifting prayer is all it takes to help someone make it through to the next day.