Faith, Family, Football, and Fifty's

Kathie Lee Gifford

Sometimes as I clean house, I will turn on the television to add background noise while I complete my duties.  I can pause periodically if something catches my interest and it makes for a nice, relaxing morning as I get things done.

This morning I decided to watch 700 Club, I knew Pat would have a commentary on the recent release of Gilad Shalit, the Israeli soldier that has been held captive by Hamas for the last 5 years.  (Don’t worry; this post will be more light-hearted than that discussion would be.)

As I continued to clean, at 10:00, I decided to switch channels to catch a little of Kathie Lee and Hoda. I rarely watch this show, but every once in a while I will pause to watch Kathie and Hoda’s opening conversation. It is all, generally, a pretty light hearted conversation; and I enjoy Kathie Lee’s sense of humor.  She is a born again Christian, who is married to Frank Gifford, one of the NFL Hall of Fame football greats from the 1950’s. Therefore, I have always had some things in common with her: our Christian faith and our love of football.

This morning, I stopped for a minute to watch, because I could see Kathie Lee was giving a heartfelt testimony about something.  I read the message at the bottom of the screen.  “Kathie Lee and Frank Gifford celebrate their 25^th wedding anniversary.” 

She was fighting tears as she spoke of her marriage to her best friend of 25 years.  We all know, and she readily stated, their marriage has been less than perfect.  She cast no stones, as she admitted to some of her short comings as well.  She gave the glory to God, stating how rare it is to have a marriage that lasts in this day and age; “with more things fighting against marriage, rather than supporting it in today’s world”.  It’s true, it seems; especially in the entertainment industry. It was really a very touching tribute to her husband and her love was deeply apparent.

I laughed as she transitioned out of the statements she had been making; always true to her form, eventually bringing a little levity to a situation that she knew had been discussed long enough. 

I laughed at myself, too - I guess because of all the years I have stopped to periodically include her in my life.  When Matthew was a toddler, I used to watch Regis and Kathie Lee week-day mornings at 9:00.  I probably watched it a little more often back then, because I have never forgotten a particular day when I was watching. Matthew walked into the room, looked at the television set and seriously stated, “Hmmm, Kathie Lee having a bad hair day.” 

Matt could not have been more than two or three years old when he made that comment.  He was using full sentences at the age of two. I remember his expression like it was yesterday; and I had a good laugh this morning at the picture in my mind. Simply because I had paused to watch Kathie Lee, today, I enjoyed a wonderful memory of my little boy from several years ago.

I have just always found her fun to watch. At that time, she would talk about her kids, and her marriage and sometimes her faith. I liked the jokes and banter between her and Regis; and it was always fun to see what trivial event they might be discussing in their opening conversation.  More often on that show than now, she would occasionally become serious.  She went through a tough time in her marriage at that time, and I believe that difficult season in her life was what eventually caused her to leave that show. 

Though I rarely watch her anymore, (so I cannot actually recommend it as a wholesome show or not - I don't watch it enough to know) sometimes, I laugh at myself and wonder why in the world I have this connection with Kathie Lee.  I watch very little television - other that news programs - so why is her show one that I actually will sit down to view?  I have seen her misquote Scripture, and joke about drinking, and other things that as a Christian, I do not approve.  But I would never doubt, or question her commitment to the Lord.  That’s God’s job, not mine. I believe her commitment is real. I have my issues, too; as we ALL do. 

I guess I enjoy her because she is open, she is honest, and she is refreshing.  She is not afraid to say what she thinks, and she has often times landed herself in trouble over her views.  There have been times in her life she has taken a tremendous amount of attacks from the media and paparazzi because of her Christian faith.  I guess that is partly why I like her.  Through all her success and even with some of her faults, I have never seen her stand down from her faith. It would be great to see more people in the entertainment industry place such importance on marriage, strong values, and Scripture. 

Oh, by the way, she had a great hair day today; looking pretty good at 58!  Ha! Our age!! Could that be another thing we have in common?