Until spring arrives, I have signed up in a bowling league. I don't know really how it all came about....it was sudden. First, my mother-in-law asked me to practice bowling with her on Mondays and the next thing you know I am bowling in the Geriatrics League. Even the ones who look like they have one foot in the nursing home, I am like the worst bowler on the team.
Today, it was nice being a senior......V.I.P card and all. I was able to spend a minimal price to role as many balls as I can in one hour. I was able to put in five games. Interesting enough, I am racing against time, playing pretty well when this elderly man brought his mother (at least I don't think it was his wife........maybe it was) to the alley right next to me. She can barely walk and uses a cane. The man placed the ball in her hand and she whipped that puppy down the gutter like a pro. Unfortunately, she lost her balance and fell down into my lane, full of oil from the alley and the older man tried to get her up graciously. Meanwhile, I haven't a clue what to do. I am in the 9th frame of my 5th game and she is lieing in my alley. I have about 2 minutes left of my game...do I dial 911? Do I grab the paddles off the wall? Of course, no bowling personal was around. Finally, the man got her up and they went and got her some bowling shoes. I had to get out of there lest I run her over with my ball.
Besides mental, bowling seems to me to be about proper balance. From foot positioning to releasing the ball over the arrow you are guaging to put the ball in the pocket. Such is our spiritual life. We balance our checkbooks, we owe a patient balance on our health insurrance EOB (expanation of benefits)......we even try to balance our lives between home and work. Try balancing your day with God. Does He get His fair share? It is not that He needs our trite little devotional and prayer to go with it. He does not even need our 10% giving to the church. It is God's church and He will supply. God just wants us to love him more and to love our neighbor as ourselves. I have concluded that He expects a balance in our lives that includes our reverence and our need for Him to speak and we need to give that time above everything else to start our day.
Strike the right balance and He will not spare us from receiving blessings (pun intended).
As I read this I struggled with the balance between tears of laughter and tears of sensitivity as you described the poor woman in the lane next to you. I see at least three heroes in this story. The woman who, after that embarrassing moment, kept on. Her son (husband?) who valiantly did not give up on her. And...YOU... tackling a new sport and one, which, as I think about it, is probably going to be as good for your overall balance as golf.
ReplyDeleteLooking forward to more posts.