I've heard this commercial sometimes on CJOB as I'm driving out to school:
Little Girl: Daddy, what an MVP?
Daddy: It's the most valuable player.
Little Girl: Really?
Daddy: Why?
Little Girl: Coach said I was the MVP.
Daddy: Oh, that's great...
LG: And he said Jimmy was, and so was Peter...
Daddy: You mean he said everyone was the MVP?
LG: Yeah.
Daddy: Hmm.
(Disclaimer: this might not be exactly how it goes, but it's pretty close)
Now, as it happens every time I hear something about an MVP, I think about myself. You see, with initials MVP, it's hard to escape. What with the familiarity many people have with those particular initials, I'm sure I'll be reminded of the fact for the rest of my life. But sometimes it's not so great...
See, as someone who loves almost all sports, but is generally considered on the bubble to be on any team, I will likely never be considered the Most Valuable Player for anything. As it was pointed out to me somewhere during high school, I am quite possibly the only person who will never live up to his initials. But whenever I'm reminded that I'm not great at sports and I never will be, I just think back to a story my aunt had told time and time again...
When I was born, I had an uncle who was an uncle for the first time. For everyone else, it was old hat because he had two children. But he was gung-ho about the whole being-an-uncle thing. So when he found out that my initials were MVP, he quickly pointed out that I must naturally be destined to be a Most Valuable Player. It was at that point that my aunt interjected by saying the following: "He may, and he may not. But no matter what, he will always be a Marvellously Valuable Person." Throughout life, it's always comforting to know that someone regards me as a Marvellously Valuable Person.
But the commercial got me thinking. MVP is something we usually assume can only apply to one person at a time, for one year at a time (or two if there's a lockout). However, with a new definition of the term 'MVP' it's clear to see that every one of us will be an MVP for eternity.
See, it's painfully clear that through God, we were all (and I mean every single one of us) "fearfully and wonderfully made." This eternal, all-powerful God chose to make us, and to love us enough to name each person his MVP. The fact that we can get up each morning and have a purpose for our lives is nothing short of a miracle. But therein lies insight #2 of the day.
Today, all the teachers (and student teachers) in the Garden Valley School Division had an inservice. The topic was literacy and how to teach students to write well. The presenter pointed out that teachers don't celebrate the day-to-day achievements of their students enough. She gave an example of an acquaintance who took a trip to Italy. This friend journaled every little thing that happened on that trip. But once she got home, she stopped journalling. Why? Because the things she did at home were no longer special.
Then, a year or so later, she had a baby. As it is with most babies, she started writing down everything the baby did (the first tooth, the first step, the first diaper rash, etc.). But, after a couple of years, it had dwindled to an entry every two or three weeks. Why? Because she was too busy with housekeeping, shopping, visiting with friends, etc. to bother writing down the daily events that seem to get more and more repetitive. What changed?
What happened to our presenter's friend is that she let her miracles become mundane. Amazing things happened so often and so repetitively, that they started to be taken for granted. The presenter said we do the same thing in our classrooms.
But we also do it every morning.
We wake up (miracle) and we're still breathing (miracle). We have a purpose for our life (miracle) and hope for our future (miracle) because there is a God who loves us (miracle) and calls us his MVP (you get the point).
So I challenge all of us (myself included) to remember that we are God's MVPs, and that it is a miracle that could never be repeated too many times. For me, it could be easier, just because every time I think of my name, I'll be reminded. But personally, I can use all the reminders I can get.
"Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?"
mvp
