It All Matters - A lesson from Peyton Manning

The Whitworth Three

Last night, as my family celebrated New Year's Eve in a low-key, go for a walk, grab some dinner, and watch a football game kind of way, my father handed me the December 23rd, 2013 Sports Illustrated.  In it is an extensive article about Peyton Manning who was selected as Sportsman of the Year.  (If you haven't read it yet, READ IT.)  During the commercials of the game, while my dad was in constant CS (Channel Surfing) mode, I ignored the COPS channel it continually landed on, and read the article.  The article brilliantly describes Peyton's way of doing things, his character, his integrity, his empathy, his life as a football player.  In the article Jon Torine is quoted as saying, "When Peyton Manning dies, this is what they ought to write on his gravestone:  IT ALL MATTERED TO ME."  The training, the practices, the minute details have all mattered and worked to make Peyton the player he is today.  But not just the football, the people it involved as well - the trainers, the sports writers, the coaches, the equipment managers, the fans.  They all mattered. 

Today, as the new year begins, this quote - IT ALL MATTERS - has been resonating with my soul, and causing me to reflect.  Does it all matter to me?  Do I attend to life with the same discipline and focus?  Do I care for others around me in a way that lets them know I see them and love them?  As I reflected on the answers to these questions, I thought about the fact that I was a Whitworth.  My family has given me a "Whitworth Way" of doing things.  There is the Grandma standard of praying, cleaning, and ironing to be followed, the Grandpa way of wisdom, listening, telling stories, and being active, my father's method of cleaning cars, mowing a yard, packing, and organizing just about anything, and my mother's way of hosting an event, writing a note, or loving on someone.  For whatever reason, I have always felt the Whitworth name carried this expectation, this idea that you would live as if IT ALL MATTERS and I am so grateful for it.  So this year, I hope to continue to live the Whitworth way, to live as if IT ALL MATTERS, to think more deeply and carefully about how this reality may play out in my own life.  If it all matters, what should my life look like?  And how do I make that a reality?  So on the start of this new year, I am thankful for this reminder that came through an article about a football player and prayerful that I will not forget that IT ALL MATTERS - especially, the people around me. 

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