Upset Saturday!

As I write this, it is 10:49pm on Saturday, October 5, 2024. Today will be remembered in the College Football world as Upset Saturday as two Top 5 teams were beaten by unranked teams (my #4 Vols being one of those teams). Number 9 Missouri fell to #25 Texas A&M; #22 Louisville fell to unranked SMU; #10 Michigan fell to unranked Washington; #11 USC fell to unranked Minnesota; to round out the weekend, #25 UNLV lost to unranked Syracuse and at the time of writing, #8 Miami is behind unranked California by 11 just before the half. Every one of these teams that lost were favored to win, most by double digits. Every one of those fanbases are wondering how the world just got turned upside down! I mean, Vanderbilt was previously 0-60 against top 5 ranked teams in their history and they just beat the #1 team in the country.

While this day may be remembered as Upset Saturday, I will remember it for other reasons. Today, I have been able to offer thanks to God for the blessing me with the past eleven years with my oldest son. Today, I got to watch the joy of him earning his hunter’s safety certification. Today, I got to see a dear friend for a few minutes and I treasure those conversations. Rather than allow the sadness and bitterness of a football team losing a game derail and ruin our days, we should find the joy in any day that the Lord has made! Yes, October 5, 2024 will be remembered as Upset Saturday to most; that’s what the talking heads are already calling it. But October 5, 2024 will be a day that I will forever be grateful for…why? Because I got to share it with people that I love.

Now, you may be wondering, “What in the world is his point?” Here it is…sometimes we expect a win and are instead handed a loss. How do we react? Sometimes, we learn more from losses than from wins. It’s how we react that determines the outcome to a “season.” This day, week, month, or year may be your “Upset Saturday.” How will you respond? How will you react? Be thankful for those around you and remember, “This is the day that the Lord has made, rejoice and be glad in it” (Psalm 118:24). Also, 1 Corinthians 10:13, “No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it.” Trials will come…get up, dear friend; dust yourself off and put one foot in front of the other. You have the Lord on your side!

-Josh Romo