There Was A Time, Before The Great Reveal

There was a time. A time when I was a sports fan. More specifically, I adored my Chicago Cubs; was a huge fan of Peyton and the Indianapolis Colts. A time when I couldn't wait for the Super Bowl, when I would plan Super Bowl parties, or make plans to attend one. A time

when I loved doing a bracket for March Madness--I loved Duke basketball, and Coach K.

I rooted hard for Magic and "the ugly one from South Bend." Admittedly, I never really developed a taste for hockey (I grew up in the South), but I attended a few games while I was living in St. Louis and I get the attraction to the sport.

I went deep into the fantasy sports. I had a "franchise" fantasy football team for several years and even tried my hand at fantasy baseball. By the way, fantasy baseball can be a full time job for crying out loud. I mean, those boys have games every single day! At least with fantasy football, you only had to worry about Sundays, Mondays and Thursdays.

I quit the NBA after Jordan. I retired from the NFL about the same time Peyton did. And ever since Chicago traded off the entire 2016 World Series Championship players, I've had a difficult time following my beloved Cubs, even though my office is adorned with memorabilia for that team.

Sometimes I miss that guy--the fella who enjoyed being a sports fan. The guy who enjoyed Super Bowl parties and who was dang near ravenous about how much better the AFC was compared to the NFC. I miss the man who would quietly throw tantrums whenever the Cubs managed to get themselves mathematically eliminated from the post-season--which was frequent. I miss the guy who cared that deeply about those things, because life was easier to live back then.

My life was different as a sports fan. I didn't worry about things in the real world as much. The most important things in my life during those years involved how many games the Cubs were behind St Louis, or who the Colts were going to face in the first round of the playoffs. Would it be New England? I would hope not, because, well... Tom Brady.

It seems though, that I am not the only person experiencing this phenomenon. Which is nice to know. For a few years now, I've assumed that the reason for my divergence away from the world of sports fans was due to my age--maybe I'd finally "grown out" of watching sports, and I didn't like that thought at all. What else is there that I might find myself being too old for?

Well, sports fans, thanks to the glorious wonderment of social media, and all of the platforms contained therein, I have listened to several people discussing a topic they call "the great unveiling." The Great Unveiling is a reference to the Book Of Revalations, and can also be called "pulling back the curtain," which sounds like a reference to the end scenes in Wizard of Oz. It is further interesting to note that the word "apocolypse" derives from the Greek meaning "to uncover, reveal, lay bare or disclose."

When I listen to these folks, they are all echoing the same sentiments I have expressed to you here. That they no longer care as much about sports, the movies, popular music and culture. They just can't seem to care as much about the next iPhone or Samsung. American Idol is boring, as well as the latest installment of whatever Netflix comes up with. Their voices and their stories resonated with me, as much as I didn't want them to.

So, what is this "great unveiling," anyway? One possibility is that this is the time when God is revealing His truth to us. At least to those who are ready to see it. Now, the way we see things here, down at The Outpost, is that God is good--all of the time. And even though there is a huge gulf between the mind of the Creator and the human mind, it is clear that God readily chooses to communicate with His people and unveil his thoughts to us. In fact, revelation is inherent to the very nature of God. It's not just through Scripture that revelation happens. He speaks to people--through creation, through angels and other supernatural experiences, but also primarily through His voice.

I believe that's what has happened to me and so many others across the globe. To me, this "Great Unveiling" has been a gift; that my mind is no longer cluttered with those distractions I used to have. Without those distractions, my mind has been able to focus more energy on the real-world events in front of us, and to see our world for what it is. Maybe for what it has always been.

Ever since I have abandoned my old habits as a sports fanatic, I have seen the direction that this world is headed--not just this country. I mean, this country is bad-off enough, but compared to world events--well, let's just say its bad out there.

But I digress. This Great Unveiling seems to be stirring up a lot of debate. Some folks say it's a sign that society is finally waking up, that maybe, just maybe, we're finally starting to understand the true reality of our world. Others, however, aren't so convinced. They see this trend as just another form of distraction, a way for people to avoid dealing with the problems in their own lives.

And you know what? They might be right. After all, politics is nothing but a bunch of noise that's designed to keep us all divided. The more we argue and fight with each other, the less we actually accomplish, and the less we pay attention to what they are doing "behind the curtain."

But maybe, just maybe, this Great Unveiling is the first step towards real change. Maybe we're all finally starting to understand that we can't just sit back and wait for someone else to fix the problems of the world. Maybe, just maybe, we're finally taking responsibility for our own future and our own communities.

Now, I know some of y'all out there might be thinking, "What's this feller know about politics?" Well, let me tell ya-- I don't need to be an expert in politics to know a rat when I see one. The fact of the matter is, we can't trust our elected officials (the proof is in the history) to do what's right for us. It's up to us to hold them accountable and make sure they're actually doing their jobs--there's some of these rascals that have been in power for three decades, and more. Our current Idiot In Chief has been in Washington since 1972!

Now, I don't care if you're Republican or Democrat. Chances are, if you're an independant, well, odds are you think like us, anyway. I believe that this "Unveiling" is giving all of us an opportunity to see the world for what it really is--left wing or right wing, it's still the same bird. And this bird happens to not be an eagle, rather its a turkey who's main job is to get re-elected.

This is a time for all of us who have heard this call, who have received this "Unveiling,' to do one of two things (or both): (1) get prepared for the possibility that the whole house of cards is falling down around us, and/or (2) try and make a difference, raise awareness, help get all of the wheels back on the apple cart, as it were. Work towards getting the turkeys out of their high positions of power and influence (and I'm not just talking about Washington, D.C.) and get folks elected who truly represent the people of their districts.

For us here at The Outpost, well we tend to hope for the best and prepare for the worst--kinda the whole idea behind this website. But we desperately want to be wrong on this subject. We fervently hope that we are building our victory garden and our food forest for no reason at all--that every morning we wake up with the world still spinning on its axis and that the the power stays on and that the Winn-Dixie is still open.

For 2023, I wish the Cubs the best of luck this season. I just found out the Cubs are 6-5 on the season, and 1.5 games behind the Brewers--typical. Who's on first? We don't really find that to be a priority. We'll be focusing on our garden. Maybe you should, too.

Stay prayerful, y'all.