For almost a year Carl Kuhl and I planned to go to New York City for the final Big East basketball tournament. We would take our wives, go a day or two early, do a few “women activities” for Deena and Judy and then we’d soak up some of the best of college basketball for three days.20130317-163751.jpg

It was a great idea and our plans came together nicely. My friend Junior Bridgeman helped secure excellent seats – Section 118 Row 7– lower level, foul line extended. We were going to be, as they say living ”in high cotton”.

The women’s events went well. Judy, Deena (and Carl) love music so on Tuesday night, believe it or not, I went with them to the Metropolitan Opera. The singing was in Italian but being the cultural buff I am, I understood it…since the translation of each line scrolled in front of my seat. One memorable line was, “You’ll die like a galley slave rowing for love”. Really? I hadn’t heard that kind of in-depth material growing up in Conneautville, Pa.

I kept a positive spirit during the opera because I love my wife and more exciting events (basketball) were yet to come. After all, Judy’s not an avid basketball fan and she was going to go to the game(s) with me. I needed to be supportive of the things she likes to do.

Wednesday morning Carl and I sacrificed by disregarding the early, meaningless games of the Big East tournament and we spent a couple of hours at the Art Museum. Since Deena does some painting and Judy loves fashion and photography, they enjoyed the special exhibit of, “Impressionism, fashion and modernity”. I faked some degree of sophistication for a couple of hours and remained patient. After all we were about to see a lot of basketball.

The first two days we ate at some excellent New York restaurants that Carl, for whom cooking is a serious hobby, had discovered for us. The restaurants were expensive but the food was spectacular – and the girls loved the “presentationt”. They were taking pictures of each individual plate and you don’t often do that at Cracker Barrel.

Wednesday evening we went to the Broadway show, “Newsies” that all four of us really enjoyed. Thursday we had lunch with my niece, Jana, who is now living in New York. Jana’s just 23 years old, a talented musician and an adventuresome spirit. It had been three years since I had seen her and I really enjoyed getting better acquainted with her.

Then it was time for some basketball! While the wives shopped at Macy’s, Carl and I checked out the last half of the Georgetown vs. Cincinnati game and the entire Syracuse vs. Pittsburgh game. That night the wives joined us to watch Louisville’s exciting win over Villanova. The team was off to a great start! This was going to be a special weekend – I just felt it! After the Louisville game, Carl and I decided since there was so much basketball yet to come we’d take the girls back to the hotel and watch the 9:30 game between Syracuse and Georgetown on television. That way we’d not be taking the girls back to the hotel on a train after midnight.

However, that afternoon, Judy had wrenched her knee when the subway we were riding lurched forward before she was seated. On Friday morning, her pain became unbearable and we came to the sad realization she wasn’t going to be able to take the morning trip we planned to Ground Zero and the Staten Island ferry. Of greater concern to me was the fact that she didn’t think she could climb up and down the steps to our enviable seats in the arena later that night for the Louisville/Notre Dame game. Uh-oh! This was getting real serious.

So, having no realistic option, I did my husbandly duty and stayed with Judy at the hotel all evening. While she talked with her doctor on the phone and rearranged a flight home the next day I watched UL defeat The Irish on television.

Saturday morning we “wheelchaired” to the Newark Airport, caught our flight to Chicago and then eventually landed in Louisville at 7:30 p.m. We got home just in time to watch the championship game between Louisville and Syracuse on T.V. I could sometimes see the back of Carl Kuhl’s head during the game – and his son Carl IV was now sitting in my seat.

That vexing experience reminded me of two Biblical principles: First, our most detailed plans are tentative. The Bible reminds us, “Now listen, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.” Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Instead, you ought to say, “If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.” (James 4:13-15) Someone said, “If you want to make God smile, tell Him your plans.”

Secondly, one of the toughest assignments for believers is to, “rejoice in the Lord, always”. It’s one thing to begrudgingly do my husbandly duty, it’s another to do it with a joyful spirit and not make my wife feel even worse. The Bible says we’re to, “do everything without complaining” and we’re to, “give thanks in all circumstances”. Those aren’t easy commands to obey especially when it’s so counter to our natural instincts. How can I be joyful when I went to the Metropolitan Opera and the art museum but miss Louisville’s games with Notre Dame and Syracuse?

My carnal nature instinctively wants to murmur and pout. Gripe and blame. Whine and complain about the injustice of it all. (Maybe that’s what I’m doing in this article – but it’s good therapy!)

I take some solace in the fact that the Bible doesn’t say,  “Be thankful for all circumstances” but “in all circumstances.”  I’m certainly not thankful for Judy’s injury and our early departure from New York City. I’m not thankful that at this point we don’t know the extent of her injury, whether knee surgery will be needed or how soon she will recover. And I’m certainly not thankful I missed the best basketball game of the year – UL staged a dramatic second-half comeback from 16 points down to win the Big East tournament and I’m not there!

But I am thankful we had a good two days in New York City and we safely made our way home. I’m thankful for an apparent “street person” who offered the wheelchair he was using to transport his personal belongings (including a Bible resting on top) to Judy when she was in desperate need of relief. Judy concluded he was an angel, in spite of the fact that his language was a little salty.

I’m thankful that Carl’s son, a preacher in Baltimore, was able to take advantage of our tickets and he and his wife Lindsey attended the game in our place. I’m thankful for friends who have reached out to us and promised to pray for us. I’m thankful for television– I got to see Louisville’s dramatic victory over Syracuse on a big-screen high definition TV set – and that’s almost as good as being there.

Most of all I’m thankful that God has given both Judy and me very good health for many years. God has been really good to us and although our bodies do eventually wear out we have a promise of a day when there will be no more pain or sorrow or bum knees and we will be given new, glorified bodies that will never grow old..

… And really, that’s a whole lot more important than basketball…and all the money I spent to see just one U of L game? Isn’t it?