Moral Victory?

     If you know me well at all, you know that I am a huge University of Tennessee fan.  I bleed as orange as it gets and have been known to become seriously depressed or insanely happy over a game.  Most people know not to call my house during a ball game because I either won't answer or will very agitatedly try to find out what they want quickly.  That being said, I spent today with my amazing mother at the UT vs. UK game at Thompson Boling Arena (Glad Dad had to work, LOL).  What an amazing game.  UT led the entire game . . . until the last 2 or 3 minutes.  Did we win?  No.  Did they play one heck of a game against an amazingly talented UK team?  Oh Yeah.  Am I excited as ever about the future of UT basketball?  Definitely.  However, I said something to my mom on the way to the car that I just keep coming back to.  I told her that I am happy about improvement, but I am really sick of these "moral victories."  You see, UT football had an awful year, but held LSU and Alabama to practically nothing for the first half of those games.  You guessed it, two moral victories.  UT basketball lost by 2 points two nights ago to Mississippi State (#20), and just lost by three point today to Kentucky (#2).  These are huge games for a team that has been through the turmoils that they have been through and with a new coach.  They also show some amazing promise for an unranked team.  There ya have it, moral victories.
     Sometimes, I wonder if God looks at some of the battles that we all go through as "moral victories."  Does he ever look at the struggle that takes place within us and have a moment of pride that we even hung in the game?  Does he ever get down about the things that are going on in the world like I do about the things going on in UT sports?  I like to think that God looks at the struggle that we fight to get to where we are going and thinks "job well done."  I am afraid that he sometimes looks at these moral victories like we do as fans and picks them apart about what one move could have changed the whole game.  I think my new goal is going to be not so many moral victories as real victories that I can add up in the wins column of life.  I want God to be able to say "Wow, she's the real deal," just like the fans today were saying about Jarnell Stokes.
     Someone once told me to be the kind of person that makes satan say "Oh crud, here she comes" when my feet hit the floor in the morning.  I want to be the kind of person that goes to heaven with more actual victories for God than moral ones.  I want to live the kind of life that helps others on their road to actual life victories as well.  Maybe, with some more work, both UT sports and I can start having some more of those real victories.