Thursday, July 10, 2008

SPORTS


I was reading a little Nate Larkin today and he describes something in his life that was so reminiscent of my own that I couldn't resist sharing it ...

I've never been very athletic. I don't know why. I'm lean and tall and both my arms and legs can operate completely independent of one another a-la playing the piano or organ - my eye-hand coordination is just fine - I'm in decent shape and have the energy to keep up with the best of them - but I've never gotten the knack of various sports.

When I was a kid, I had to wrestle in gym class. I was 13 years old, skinny-as-a-rail and they matched me with some 14-year old brickhouse that was nine inches shorter than me and weighed ten pounds MORE than me with his whole body covered in muscle. He threw me down in no time in some kind of pretzel Full-Nelson hold before I cried, "Uncle."

I opted for an in-school gymnastics-type class. I don't know what ANY of us were thinking. I was the only kid there over 6'0" tall and upon trying to do a handstand, I promptly ended up with one knee going right thru my glasses.

Move to rope climbing. There I hung, desperately clutching the rope with my feet only eight inches off the floor while the rest of the kids were scaling the rope all the way to the ceiling in 7.2 seconds. I couldn't move an inch.

Every kid played softball. No exceptions. Just like Nate Larkin, the coach looked me over and said, "Right field." "Where's right field?" I said. I finally found it. Then, in the very first game, I heard the dreaded "CRACK!" of the bat and watched the ball rise in the air - higher and higher - coming my direction.

I stood there hypnotized. "I should probably think about catching this thing," I thought. "If I don't raise my glove, the ball is probably going to hit me ... ... ... ... ... ... Yeah, it's going to hit me ... It's definitely going to hit me ... ... ... ... ... ... This is probably going to hur--" And then the ball hit me square in the face. After I cleaned up the blood, I gave up my career as the next Heisman Trophy winner. No wait, that's football.

Track, basketball, soccer, tennis, golf, swimming, dodgeball, kickball, foursquare, tiddly-winks - none of it worked. Well, ALMOST nothing. (The follow-up blog to this one will be about the ONE THING that DID work, lame as it will probably sound to you. You're on pins-and-needles, aren't you? Tune back in tomorrow.)

But GOD -- He redeems EVERYTHING. There is a song by Ray Boltz called, "The Last to be Chosen." It candidly describes some of those agonizing days out on the gym playground. It is really MY STORY. But it also vividly reveals a bigger picture of what God CAN and WILL do with EVERY PERSON. He will USE YOU ... even when you think you have little or nothing to offer. It is really MY STORY.

And so I offer the lyrics of "The Last to Be Chosen" by Ray Boltz for your inspration, challenge - and perhaps - if you were or are anything like me - your great hope and encouragement:

"Today in the school yard they were choosing up sides,
And one child just stood there with tears in his eyes,
He'd been there before and everyone knew,
He'd be alone when the choosing was through.
But high in the heavens, the Father looked down,
And He saw what happened there on the ground,
And angels rejoiced when He said to His Son,
'Watch what I do with this one.'

The last to be chosen are the first He will call,
And what He does through them will amaze one and all,
It won't be the hero that carries the ball,
The last to be chosen are the first He will call."

Amen. And be blessed.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

I want God to use me in any way He wants to. Sometimes, I wish He could give me a hint, though. It would be nice to be prepared. There are times when He (and my friends) push me out of my comfort zone. Sometimes, I feel so unworthy. It is in those times when I must just rely on the Holy Spirit to give me the courage to do what God wants from me. Sometimes, it seems easier said than done...I feel so unsure of myself. It's as if a part of me is ready and willing, but I am not quite as confident in the ABLE part of it.

LA Nickers said...

I can totally relate to this. I was a backstop-hugger in softball class . . . when sides were chosen.

When I won my first horse show . . .at 40-something . . . well, that sort of changed everything.


Like the new pic. Looks like you visited a stable somewhere? (I have a horse-track mind.)

PK's BLOG said...

The new pic was taken at Miller Park a few nights ago.