As I write this, about 12 hours have elapsed since arguably the biggest sports contest of the year where Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs led a double-digit come-from-behind victory in overtime over the dynamic San Francisco 49ers football team. Think about the 49ers for a second. Imagine how devastated the players and coaching staff must feel after a long and grueling season with so much promise ended in the Super Bowl with a defeat? If I’m honest, disappointment comes with the territory if you’re going to play in the NFL. If the ultimate goal is to win the world championship, then 31 of the 32 teams that compete every year - each comprising of 53 players and 12 coaches respectively - end their season in disappointment. That’s a lot of people! Only one team wins in the end. The rest are forced to deal with the reality of defeat. 

 

In life we will suffer loss. No one knows this better than combat Marines. Both on the battlefield and off, many of you have suffered great loss. There’s no way around it and often it’s difficult to comprehend it. In an effort to understand, we ask God, “Why?! Why would You allow such a thing?” In my experience, He doesn’t always give us understanding. That’s hard but it doesn’t have to be a deal-breaker...