A Letter to Blair Walsh

Every once in a while, I like to put an old pair of glasses on, the ones I used to wear as a sportscaster. Like many others across the country, I was in shock when I watched Minnesota Vikings kicker Blair Walsh shank a 27 yard field goal that would have won the game. Instead of a last second Vikings win, the Seattle Seahawks squeaked by with a 10-9 victory. Afterwards, Seahawks safety Kam Chancellor, a professing Christian, recognized that this victory was from above and that God showed his team “tons of grace.”

But today my heart goes out to Blair Walsh, even though I’ve never met him, because I am praying he’s received grace as well, from the Minnesota fans, his teammates and even the media. I felt like I had a few things to say to him so the following is my letter to Blair Walsh:

Dear Blair,

I know it was difficult to walk into your locker room on Sunday. I’ve been in losing locker rooms and I know the atmosphere can be deadly silent. I pray you were on the receiving end of grace from your teammates and received a hug from several of your fellow Vikings. I am hoping, instead of issuing judgment, the players remembered their muffed catches, fumbles and missed blocks over the years. No player or game is perfect.

I remember back in 1991 when I covered a Super Bowl between the New York Giants and the Buffalo Bills in Tampa, Florida. With time running out, the Bills’ Scott Norwood had an opportunity to win the game by making a 47-yard field goal. I was already in the Giants locker room, prepared to ask players questions about their loss. But Norwood missed the uprights and the Giants miraculously won. The Bills locker room probably felt a lot like yours did on Sunday.

Here’s a truth I want to share with you. God often uses failure in our lives, even among those who believe, so we will know we cannot survive without him. Failure forces us to seek him, to ask the “why” questions and God uses it to redirect our lives. My worst failures have led to my greatest periods of spiritual growth and at one point, my rededication to him. God also lets us be human and imperfect so we can understand his grace when he pulls us out of a dire situation.

I don’t know if you know this, Blair, but the Bills’ Scott Norwood received God’s grace. He remained with Buffalo through the following season and kicked a 44-yard field goal that served as the decisive margin in the AFC Championship game. That field goal was the reason the Bills made it to another Super Bowl. That was Norwood’s final season in the NFL but God allowed him to go out on top.

God’s grace lifts us up from our lowest points in life and sets us on our feet. 1 Peter 5:10 says, ”And the God of all grace who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast.”

I am also praying the fans will give you grace. They don’t really understand the pressure you had on you and how difficult it was to kick a field goal in sub-zero temperatures. I have tried to kick a field goal in perfect conditions and couldn’t do it.  I ask the Vikings faithful to recall the two game-winning field goals you made during the regular season against Chicago and St. Louis. You are a big part of the reason Minnesota made it as far as it did.

Why are we supposed to give grace to each other?

Because we humans received God’s grace even though we did not deserve it. In Ephesians it tells us, “All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our flesh and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature deserving of wrath. But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved” (Ephesians 2:3-5).

Blair, I know you feel terrible about what happened and demonstrated it by your tears after the game. That’s what God wants from all of us.

Repentance.

A broken and contrite heart.

A recognition that we need him because we miss his holy uprights every day.

God sees those tears and he’s asking you to turn over all of the heartache from this game to him. That’s what he asks from all of us because he wants to receive the glory when he redeems our lives.

Next season, when your nail the field goal that is the difference between moving into the playoffs or not, he wants to receive the glory. He wants you to remember how he took you from your lowest point and brought you back to victory in your life.

Blair, I am praying for you to seek God during this difficult trial. He wants to tell you it’s OK and is waiting to pour out his grace on you.

Sincerely,

Lisa Burkhardt Worley, Only alive because of God’s grace