Kyle Busch
Josh Knipple in his unique way teaches us another valuable life lesson. Ty Josh, well done!
Kyle Busch was asked “Why do these moments never get old?” after winning at Dover last week: “Because you never know when the last one is.”
As many of you know our family is huge, and I mean “HUUUUGE” NASCAR fans. We just love racing. It goes back to when I was a kid and we would spend Sunday afternoons at my gram’s house after church. After lunch we would all sit down to watch the Steelers in the winter and then in the summer racing would just be on in the background. Well, for me, I was hooked. My dad and I began going to races, and after seeing it in person; the dust, the dirt, the noise, and the fans, my addiction only grew. Now I have 4 kids of my own and even my wife is into it. We always laugh in our home because our twins are still learning their letters and numbers in school, but if you ask them what driver is a certain number, they can tell you instantly. (Proud parent here)
Silas, our 8 year old is a die hard, loyal, Kyle Busch fan. If there is a collectible to be had of Kyle, he has it. From the diecast cars to the shirts, to the stuffed bear, it is in his collection. In total he probably has over 20 cars and can tell you exactly which ones he is missing. Through the highs and lows of Kyle’s career, Silas has always taken Kyle as his driver. Each week my dad plays a game with all the grandkids asking what driver each kid is taking. Based on the weeks, tracks, and previous winners, it seem the choices are always changing. Not for Silas. My dad would always ask, “Si, who you got?” Staring right through him, giving him a cynical look, he would always chime in, “Number 8 pappy, number 8. You know that.”
This past week was a tragedy within the NASCAR family. Kyle Busch passed away suddenly from sepsis brought on by a bout with pneumonia. Let’s just say Silas was heartbroken as he doesn’t handle change well. The truth is the entire sport was at a loss and devastated. He was only 41, the winningest driver in NASCAR history and had just won a week prior at Dover in the trucks. This past Sunday the amount of stories being shared about Kyle was incredible to see how many lives he had affected. It truly reminded me of the Tim McGraw song Standing Room Only,
“Be somebody that's worth remembering, a life so when I die, There's standing room only.”
Like I said Silas has been taken it extremely tough, even to the point of not wanting to watch the race this past weekend. For Lindsey and I we were trying to figure out how to talk to him about it, and let him know it is okay to grieve and mourn. Then we saw one of Kyle’s final interviews, the one from only a week earlier at Dover, about never knowing when your last race will be. Talk about a perfect lead in to us talking to him about making the most of every day. Scripture tells us that our life is a vapor, here today and gone tomorrow. To pair Kyle’s quote with that passage was like an aha moment for him. Eyes lighting up, grasping the idea of making the most of every day, every moment. Then he heard it announced that the number 8 would be retired until Kyle’s son Brexton, who is only 11, is ready to take over and drive himself. We were able to take that thought and share with him that we are meant to keep living. Instead of giving up on racing, Kyle would want his son to keep doing what he loves. So many times when we lose someone we make comments like I will never do that again. I got to speak honestly with all 4 of our kids and tell them that if something happened to me I would want them to keep living there best life. I would want them to keep playing baseball, keep watching NASCAR, and most importantly keep loving Jesus. How many times when we lose someone is it easy for people to turn on Jesus and question. We will make comments like, “If Jesus truly loved me, how could he let this happen.” That is the last thing I would want my kids to say or think. Instead I would hope they would say, “Jesus walked with my dad through all of it and it will be Jesus strength that gets me through it now.”
Is it okay to mourn? Absolutely! My challenge for you now is to live every day like it could be your last and know that Jesus is with you whatever you are facing. To end all this on a lighter note, Silas biggest question now is this, “Dad, who should I cheer for now,” followed by “I guess it means when we go to the race you gotta buy me more cars.”
Make it Meaningful Monday! God is good…