beauty amongst ashes

Although I'm obviously sad and disappointed the Canucks couldn't come through last night, I am still very proud of our team. They gave us an amazing run to the cup this year - two months of fun, excitement, entertainment, thrills, gripping moments, jubilation, and patriotic spirit reminiscent of the Olympics. How can that be looked on as a disappointment? Yes, we were oh so close to being #1, but sometimes it's not all about being #1. Sometimes it's being thankful for opportunities, for the journey, and for being #2. Come on guys, we were second best in the league, President's Trophy Winners and Division Champions. Sometimes you need to look at the glass as half full. We have a great team here in Vancouver and there's always another year, another run at the cup :) Go Canucks Go!
What's sad though is to see such a fun two months of cheering on the Canucks end like this. What were those idiots thinking? How is it acceptable to destroy other people's property, mock authority, and disgrace the reputation of Vancouver and all of Canada? How those people who rioted last night can call that a good time is mind-blowing to me. Seriously people, we LOST A HOCKEY GAME. It was a GAME. It was supposed to be fun. It's not like you lost your jobs or your right to vote or anything else that a riot is normally about. So the Canucks didn't win? So what? It's sad, but life goes on. Life is about far more than a hockey game, and for people to use a trivial disappointment as a chance to showcase outright rebellion and oppositionality is beyond me. I'm very disappointed that this city, which showcased the most successful Olympic Games in history, has tarnished that reputation with this outrageous immaturity.
At the end of it all, however, I am reminded of the bigger picture. I realize now that I have been guilty of maybe getting too caught up in Canucks fever over the past few months. The slogan for the Canucks post-season was "This is what we live for." How very sad and depressing that this thing that so many Vancouverites and Canucks players supposedly 'live for' is the chance at the Stanley Cup - something so uncertain and volatile. Fans and players have thrown all of themselves into one thing - Canucks for the Cup - for months and what is the result? Failure. How sad that the thing you live for is always just a little out of reach, never certain, and never promising of peace or accomplishment.
What we really should be living for is the one thing that NEVER fails or leads to disappointment - God. He says "You will know that I am the Lord. Those who hope in me will never be disappointed." Isaiah 49:23. Jesus promises that a life devoted to Him will reap GUARANTEED eternal rewards - rewards that far outshine a Stanley Cup - rewards that will never, ever fade.
In conclusion, all of this makes me realize that we as a people are very, very lost. We are a broken people. We are all in great need of God's mercy, His grace, and His love.