Knoxville Nationals 2k18

Last night *at the time this post was wrote* I had a blast with my family and some friends of my dad’s attending the Nationals at Knoxville. I posted a lot of photos on my story (yes…I actually got back on Snapchat, just to have some sort of social media that can help me interact with people my age; my username is “sparklesbyablog”). I got a request to do a recap of the night, so I was thrilled to do that. And when I thought about this post, I thought back to my old racing blog post where I talked about what can be learned from sprint car racing about life. So I thought I would follow up on that post and add some more life lessons I’m learning, since after all, that post was written three years ago… Read the first part here!

With that being said, I wasn’t sure at first if I actually had any new lessons to share. Our nights at the races were pretty much the same, though just as fun, so what more could I really have to say about it? Well, the more I thought about it, I thought I was only 12 when I wrote that first post, and now I’m 15, so there are definitely more things I pick up on than when I was 12. Yeah, it was like this one time when I was 12, I watched this horribly cheesy movie about high school, and I knew it had some dirty references at the time. Then one night a couple months ago I was bored and saw that it was prime on Amazon, so I thought well, I’ll watch it again and see if my opinion had changed. Well, it didn’t, but I was traumatized, because there were so many references that went way over my head when I was 12, and they are so bad I’m not even going into them…

Anyway! This post is not about that train-wreck of a movie. So, life lessons, beyond the fact that if you hated a movie when you were 12, you probably won’t change your mind at 15. I definitely had a lot of fun at Knoxville as I always do, but this time there was something different about it. You know how I talked about you just pick up on more when you’re older? That’s basically what happened to me. I started seeing themes that I didn’t like. It wasn’t that the races necessarily promote those themes; it’s just how people act and was evident at any event I’ve been to, like the Cyclones football game or hockey games.

I’ll go more in depth on that, on just the culture of our society. I also learned some lessons on dealing with insecurity and comparison. And then some about being humble, too. These lessons may not be learned directly from sprint car racing so much as they are just being at the races, because when you go to events like these, you expect them to be all fun, right? Of course you do, and of course they usually are. But you’d be kidding yourself if you don’t get moments of reality in there, too.

They’re different for each person, but for me that might look like we’re walking around, and all of a sudden I see this girl who I think is really pretty, and then I’m insecure and thinking of all the things she has that I don’t. It’s a fleeting moment, or a fleeting thought, but it just goes to show you that these events can’t be an escape because eventually you have to deal with your inner insecurities. I’ll talk about those. But I’ll also show you what we did, too, so let’s get into it.

We walked around for awhile to begin with, and it was insanely busy, but Nationals usually is. We went to the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame and then ate nearby. There is a lot to see as many people sell various things like clothing. I found this cute place and snagged a t-shirt I can’t wait to wear.

I loved the bag 😉

I wasn’t as hungry as I usually am because I wasn’t feeling the best due to a wonderful girl thing, but I did get my favorite chicken and the cookies sent straight from heaven I’m pretty sure. 😉

I really enjoy the time spent with family. What I’m learning is just to enjoy and live in each moment instead of getting lost in my thoughts that lead me to want worldly things and not appreciate what God has put and blessed me with right in front of me. But stay tuned; I’ll go more in depth on this in one of the lessons.

The night itself stretched out pretty long, but the final race was intense and awesome to watch. I love how they had fireworks going on at the beginning of the race.

Once it was done, we went into the pits as usual. I was dying to see this new puppy that a friend of my dad’s had recently got, so when I heard that he was there I couldn’t contain my excitement. He was adorable, and it was hilarious because he was chasing my brother around trying to bite his shoes!

Mom and I usually just follow the boys around the pits as Hunter got pictures with some drivers, and I got a picture with one of my favorites, too. Then on the way home, we had to stop and get gas, and Mom got a Dr. Pepper for my dad, but look at the bottle—one of the best I’ve seen:

On the way home, my phone was nearly dead, but there were some thoughts on my heart that were making me want to explode, and my mood was somewhat in a daze as I was contemplating different observations. So the good that came out of that was that I finally wrote on my novel in the notes section of my phone as it was on 1%, hahaha. It made it, though, while I finished! In fact I think it made it all the way home while I listened to Spotify, so phone of the year award. I had these thoughts that were perfect for the scenes in the middle of my book, but suddenly the inspiration just hit me, and I’ve learned from trial and error that when that happens, I need to write it down as soon as possible or it will be gone. So I’m really glad I got to do that, it really gave me the boost I needed in my writing. I typically write my novels in order, from chapter one to the end, but if I get a great idea for the climax and the inspiration is there, I won’t NOT write it. In the past I used to be so OCD about going out of order, but then I realized if you don’t write it then it’s gone. I’ll also talk about some of the thoughts I had as I get into the lessons learned from the night.

Lessons Learned from the Knoxville Nationals

Seeing all the people can inevitably lead to comparison.

In racing, just like in everything else, I can only imagine that it’s really easy to compare your team to other people and how you’re doing. I may not be able to relate to that, but I can to comparing because I compare myself to just about everything. At the Nationals, sometimes when we’re walking around, as I mentioned above, I compare myself to how other girls look or dress. Or if they steal my look a-like. 😉 Haha just kidding, although one of my look a-likes was with a girl when I spotted him. (By the way, if you don’t know who my look a-likes are, read this post. Even though I call them MY look a-likes, they don’t look like me, haha.) I didn’t find any look a-likes at the Nationals unfortunately, but I usually don’t because it’s just too busy. But back to comparison. It’s something I’m slowly learning to let go of. How am I doing that? At first I honestly didn’t know if I even had any advice to offer on this one since sometimes I fall into the trap and don’t know how to get out. But I am realizing there’s a way out, and it’s not the cliche advice you hear.

You know the kind I’m talking about probably. Like how you just have to STOP comparing and appreciate who you are or that comparison is pointless. That advice is true even if it is cliche, and if it works for you, that’s great. But if you get cynical like me and hate cliches, haha, you might need to go deeper.

When I’m trying to think through something, first I have to vent. It’s hard to let go of something if you can’t even acknowledge something is there (more on that in this post). I try to always vent to God, but I’ll be honest, sometimes I feel embarrassed doing that or just don’t know how to put my thoughts into words to tell Him, so then what I’ll do is just write it out in my notes and then pray over it. That helps a lot. Then I can continue writing about what to do with those thoughts because obviously I can’t just let them sit there; I have to learn from them. So when I felt feelings of comparison coming in, I first just wrote those out. I’ll spare you the whininess of that rant, but here’s what I concluded from it: “I know I’m insatiable, that even if I had…[everything I wanted] I still wouldn’t be complete. So I have to be conscious of that and keep turning to Jesus. And just enjoy the right now and tell Him these thoughts instead of obsessing over them.”

I can’t even begin to count the number of situations where the people who look like they have it all end up in tragic situations where they’re in rehab, or they committed suicide, or they got into trouble with the law, or they did drugs, or they just can’t make themselves happy. No amount of money or good looks or whatever it is you want can buy you happiness. If you’re not happy without it, you won’t be happy with it. That’s why you learn to rely on Jesus alone to meet your needs. It’s a really beautiful thing when you fully submit yourself to Him and don’t feel that need of having to fill a void. Of course you still have wants, but they don’t consume you. Anything you get is just an added blessing in life that pales in comparison to knowing Him. That’s how I want to live. I’ve done that before, so I know it’s possible. It really is all about what you focus on. That’s why I wrote that out as soon as possible so it wouldn’t be following me around all night. I have to learn to let go and trust God.

You have a choice on whether you want to follow a crowd or be a light.

I’ve noticed this at every event I attend, from hockey games to football games to the races, and definitely more so as I’ve gotten older. It’s the fact that our culture glorifies things like drinking and partying, at every age, and I think that’s really sad. You should’ve seen the line for the alcohol at the race; it was absolutely insane. But I often think that says a lot about us, like wow, here we’re at some nice event which is in and of itself supposed to be fun and entertaining, and we STILL feel the need to drink? It just goes to show that no amount of things or “moments” (because now society is big on experiences and living with no regrets…) can satisfy us. If they did, it should be enough that you’re even there and able to enjoy time with family or friends, but nope. People still feel the need to get drunk and party like they’re 20. And yeah, you might say that drinking is part of the fun, but why does it have to be? Why isn’t it enough just to enjoy the night for what it is?

There’s no good reason or excuse to hide what’s obvious, that people still feel the need to escape reality, because no amount of events or partying can heal a heart with pain. On the way home as I was writing some of those scenes for my book, a song came up on my Spotify country station called “Drunk Me.” I have to admit, I did enjoy the song, the tune and all, but the lyrics basically reiterated everything I previously thought. The lyrics went really well with the story of my book though, so I added it to the playlist for my book, haha.

But the point of my scenes for my book, of any blog post I write, is truly just to encourage you to live for Jesus because He alone heals the brokenness of a heart. I’ve been thinking a lot lately about what overarching theme I’m most passionate about when it comes to my faith. There are so many messages I wish to share that it’s hard to just focus on one, and I want to focus on more than one, but there are a lot of Christian pastors or leaders who focus on multiple messages, but then they sort of have their one message that defines them because that’s the one they’re most passionate about or knowledgable about, etc. For example, David Jeremiah, a pastor I really like, hits on many different topics of the Christian faith, but he’s also known for his emphasis on Revelation and the end times.

When I think about what that may be for me, if I do have an area or topic that I keep coming back to, I think I’ve finally figured out what it is: the brokenness of people and our need for a Savior. Every time I go somewhere where I’m surrounded by masses of people, this melancholy feeling comes over me, and I’m left wondering about each of the people I see, what their stories may be, what their life is like, how they think and feel, if they know Jesus. I wonder what’s on their heart late in the night. And I always think about the whole message of being a light and ministering to other people’s brokenness, how one person can affect this person, and that person can affect this person, and there’s this whole revival over a broken world. That’s what keeps coming back to me, and all of my interests and goals seem to align with that central message. It’s why I love writing so much. It’s why psychology is so fascinating to me and gets me fired up, you get to study how people think and feel and why they behave why they do. It’s the essence of being human. It’s why I was so interested in prison ministry.

That’s something I’ve finally been realizing, is this deep desire I have to minister to broken hearts. And you don’t think you can find that at an event where it’s supposed to be fun, fun, fun, but I’ve learned that’s where you seem to find the most brokenness because that’s where people go to escape. And it’s NOT bad to go to fun events. It’s just about your behavior and motives. It’s unhealthy to want to escape from reality in the form of getting drunk or partying. Even something harmless like an event like this can be unhealthy if you have the wrong motives for going. I understand that sometimes you just need a break, but needing a break and needing an escape are two different things. And I think that’s what people need to be more conscious of.

Lastly, when you are victorious in life, it’s so important to remember who deserves the glory.

It also saddens me when people do really well, but you don’t hear any mention of God. He’s the One who ultimately gives us anything, our talents, skills, etc. So He deserves and will get the glory. One thing I do love about Knoxville is how they pray before every race. I have a lot of respect for that because it just goes to show that of course even as a Christian you can still have fun, but when you’re having fun, you don’t have to leave God out of it. It’s so important to remember God in both the good and bad times. He’s the One who gives to you and strengthens you. That’s something I’ve known, but it was a good reminder for me not to become lazy in my relationship with Him. Like any relationship, the effort you put into it is what you will get out of it. And God is no different. James 4:8 says that if we draw near to Him, He will draw near to us. I can tell when I’m being lazy and when I’m really pursuing Him, and it makes all the difference. Of course, He’s with me no matter what, regardless of what I do, but being conscious of that is what I have to remember.

Like I mentioned earlier, these lessons are more learned by attending a race versus lessons actually learned from the sport. For lessons along those lines, read my first post here. I had a blast at the Nationals, though, and have enjoyed all the memories made from attending Knoxville races over the years and the lessons learned. Have you ever been to the Nationals? What was your experience like?