Reality TV

I wouldn’t do well in a reality TV competition.

I don’t do well with competitions in general.

I tend to turn everything into a cooperative game.

Take ping-pong, for example.

Instead of trying to score points against my opponent,

I always end up seeing how many times I can bounce the ball back and forth across the net.

At the lake last weekend, Amelia the Niece and I made it to 21.

 

Anyway.

 

Reality TV competitions are just too stressful.

Not only are competitors put under major time constraints,

On a stage with bright lights and cameras that you’re supposed to track to connect with your audience,

But also you’re expected to wait for what seems like an eternity to hear your results.

I think my heart might just beat out of my chest in the waiting.

 

Last night, on America’s Got Talent,

I watched as the members of one group huddled together in the waiting and prayed.

One guy kept saying, “Thank you, Lord,” over and over and over again.

They didn’t make it through.

 

And I watched as my Brooke,

Brooke Simpson to be precise,

Waited for her results.

She was pitted against a group of teenagers that she obviously cared for.

That’s what my Brooke does.

She cares for people.

When her name was called as the “winner” of that round,

She immediately said,

“I’m sorry,”

To her competitors.

She had made it to the finals!

She could rejoice!

But instead, she felt bad for beating her competition.

She knew that their hearts were broken even as her heart was filled with surprised joy.

 

I’d feel the same way.

 

God: Be with those who win and those who lose—the elated and the dejected—the uplifted and the downtrodden—for You are God of all. Amen.

 

PS. Consider voting for Brooke Simpson on AGT next Tuesday night? She deserves to win.