Have you ever heard of the Win Shot? Author Heather Holleman writes about it in her book, Guarded by Christ, and we couldn’t help but talk about it in our own book, The Sublime Soiree: God’s Invitation to the Party of your Life. Following is an excerpt:
A single photo (or a collection) can be a powerful way to re-center ourselves in the midst of life’s craziness. As we gaze at the image, our minds drift back to the moment that was captured and the activities and emotions that surrounded it. Suddenly, the joys of the past energize us for our present. But there are some other types of “photos” we can look back upon that provide us energy, and those are the snapshots of our journey with God. Author Heather Holleman writes about them in her book Guarded by Christ.
Holleman shares a time when she was seated next to a professional photographer at a fundraising event. As they enjoyed their meal and conversation, Heather learned that the gentleman was the official photographer for the Academy Awards and the Miss Universe Pageant. Specifically, the photographer noted that he was in charge of the “win shot.” “When they win,” he said. “I’m there to capture the moment when they win.” He proceeded to show her photo after glamorous photo, sharing how it is the most important photo in that type of photography. After all, we love to see winners. The whole conversation was enough to ignite the comparison game within Holleman’s heart, and she found herself a bit downcast and contemplative about her own life’s win-shots. Would they be enough for God to place a crown of glory on her head some day? Would He look at her win shots and say, “Well done my good and faithful servant?” And then the Spirit of God transformed her thinking.
“I thought of snapshots from my life that Jesus would honor,” Holleman writes. “And these moments had nothing to do with fame or achievement. They weren’t glamorous or important to the world.” Holleman goes on to share that God’s win shots don’t have anything to do with what culture values. Instead, God’s snapshots are of all the times we surrender to His Son Jesus.
“First, in my bedroom, as a little girl asking Jesus to come into my heart. Flash and click. Next, a memorable day at The University of Virginia when, in tears, I asked God to take over my whole life and make me the woman I was supposed to be . . . Flash and click. Then, driving down a country road when I sensed God asking me, ‘Will you live the life I ask you to?’ I say, ‘Yes, Jesus!’ Flash and click.”
As we read Holleman’s moments of surrender to God, we were encouraged to recall our own experiences of godly win-shots. For Linda, it was the moment she went face down on her bedroom floor, declaring to God that she wanted to live fully in His camp, but admitting she wasn’t sure what it meant. Flash and click. And when her husband’s employer wanted to transfer him to a state hundreds of miles from the home, church and schools she loved. She fought through anger and sadness and placed her trust in God, declaring that she believed He would show her family specific reasons for moving them there. He did. Flash and click.
Sue recalls watching Billy Graham with her dad at a young age. She knew she needed Jesus and knelt down with her dad to confess her sins and ask Jesus to come into her heart and be Lord of her life. Flash and click. And then, in 1994, as a newly divorced woman, Sue remembers sitting on her deck and recognizing her life was a mess. She cried out to the Lord and rededicated her life to him. Flash and click.
If you are anything like us, you have a significant collection of mementos from life’s special moments. God doesn’t mind. In fact, we’ve seen that His word often encourages it. And maybe we could add one more memento. Perhaps we could begin to fill a journal with descriptions of win-shot moments with God – the most foundational being the moment we confessed our inability to earn our way to heaven and put our full trust in Jesus for the gift of everlasting life. A gift that He purchased for us through the surrender of His very own life on the cross. Jesus captured the ultimate win-shot through His life, death, and resurrection – all done in surrender to God the Father. And when we surrender to God’s plan, we are equipped for everything life brings our way.
What win shots do you think God has captured in your life? Why not take some time today and let Him show you?
— The Sublime Soiree (c) July 2024
