Thunder UP!!

Thunder Up!

Some of you may know that I am from Oklahoma. Specifically, I am from the greater Oklahoma City area. You might even know that we have a professional basketball team, the Oklahoma City Thunder. Perhaps some of you even know that our Thunder are the 

2025 World Champions!!

Sunday night, the OKC Thunder won the championship after a hard-fought series that went the distance against the Indiana Pacers. Sadly, the Pacers star Tyrese Halliburton went down with an Achilles tear early in the game. I know it was heart-breaking for him—and us as well. 

You may wonder why I am talking about basketball. I am well aware that basketball is not the most important thing in life. Many argue that our culture idolizes sports figures, that they represent consumerism and greed and many evils of our society.

I wouldn’t disagree. 

However, can I tell you how the entire state has rallied around our team? How these players have united so many for a cause? How our state has come together as one to enjoy the success and support the team that has brought OKC into the spotlight of the nation and the world? A team that has shone its light on an amazing place I call home. 

This week, I learned a powerful lesson from our team. Sam Presti, the General Manager of the OKC Thunder, has an introduction to the city for all his players. Before they can ever don an OKC jersey, they tour the OKC Memorial Museum. 

Are you familiar with the museum? If not, let me share. Thirty years ago, on April 19, 1995, Oklahoma City was targeted by what was then the worst act of domestic terrorism in the history of the United States. Cowards detonated a truck bomb in front of the Murray Federal building killing 168 innocent individuals including, 19 children in the building’s daycare center. It was a horrific moment in our history, one that is forever remembered in a moving memorial and museum.

In those dark hours after the bombing, our state and our country were united as one. We stood together, as everyone came to support the families of the victims and the survivors. We loved. We gave. We cried. We stood as one. Just this morning, I heard one of our news anchors use a biblical reference when talking about the bombing: what man meant for evil was used for good in our community and our nation. 

Today, the Memorial and the Museum stand not only as reminders of the horrific period in our state’s history but also as a representation of the good that has come from it. They stand as a monument to the strength that happens when a community stands as one. They are reminders of the heroes who rushed in to aid the survivors, of the acts of bravery in the midst of cowardice. 

And before anyone can wear the OKC Thunder jersey, Presti requires a trip through the museum and memorial to show the future Thunder players the heart of our city and state. The Thunder players are reminded that this city, this state, has been through dark hours but we rose to the occasion. These future players get to view the Oklahoma Standard at work.

I love how Presti ensures these players understand the pride that comes with being an Okie. I love that he takes them to the heart of our community to help them understand who we are, the circumstances that have molded us into our current experience. I love that he helps them understand the pride that comes with wearing an OKC jersey, with representing this city and this state.

But do you realize what Presti is doing?

He’s doing much of what God commanded His people throughout the Old Testament.

When all the people had crossed the Jordan, the Lord said to Joshua, “Now choose twelve men, one from each tribe.  Tell them, ‘Take twelve stones from the very place where the priests are standing in the middle of the Jordan. Carry them out and pile them up at the place where you will camp tonight.’”…  He told them, “Go into the middle of the Jordan, in front of the Ark of the Lord your God. Each of you must pick up one stone and carry it out on your shoulder—twelve stones in all, one for each of the twelve tribes of Israel.  We will use these stones to build a memorial. In the future your children will ask you, ‘What do these stones mean?’⁷ Then you can tell them, ‘They remind us that the Jordan River stopped flowing when the Ark of the Lord’s Covenant went across.’ These stones will stand as a memorial among the people of Israel forever.” So the men did as Joshua had commanded them…. They carried them to the place where they camped for the night and constructed the memorial there. Joshua 4:1-8

Repeatedly, the Israelites built monuments to remind them of the work the Lord had done in their midst. From crossing the Red Sea to Jacob wrestling with God to crossing the Jordan, the Israelites erected monuments to remind them of God’s faithfulness. When their doubts came along, they could look at the pile of stones and be reminded that God was faithful in the past and will be faithful again.

It’s much the same way in our own lives. When we find ourselves doubting — doubting His presence, His work, His care and concern — we can look back at our lives and find those times where He worked before. We can be assured that if He did it before, He will do it again. As we reflect on His work in our lives, we find our faith bolstered simply by remembering our past.

It’s so beautiful to remember all the ways He has cared for us so tenderly throughout our lives!

It’s such a beautiful way to experience a stronger faith!

Do you have any memorials? Maybe they aren’t physical reminders like and alter, but maybe they are simply moments that stand out to you, moments where you were completely convinced of His faithfulness. For me, I can reflect on His goodness to provide a scholarship for my school of choice. It’s the reminders of how He so carefully carried me through the darkest days of my divorce. It’s remembering all the prayers He has answered in the last year.

As I reflect on His past faithfulness, I become completely convinced that He can and will do it again. Maybe the challenge before me looks different, but His faithfulness never ends.

What are your memorials? If you haven’t taken a journey down memory lane recently, maybe it’s time to remember the faithfulness of your Father!