Stay in the Game
If I hadn’t known better, I’d have accused the bowling alley’s mechanic of gluing the 10 pin to the floor. Three times in seven frames it wobbled in place, but refused to fall.
I hrrumphed back to my seat and mentally reviewed the basics: steady approach, eyes on the pins, smooth arm swing and reach toward the one-two pocket at the end of the alley. I was doing everything right, yet there it was on the score sheet : 71. The game was nearly over. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d bowled so badly, and I fought the temptation to pack my gear and go home.
The ball rumbled through the return and rolled to a stop. I slid my fingers into the holes, brought the ball to my chest and for the umpteenth time ran through the checklist: breathe easy, eyes on the pocket . . . .
The ball sailed toward the pins as it had a dozen times before -- but this time, all ten exploded as the 16-pounder smashed into the stubborn sentinels. I strolled back to the table, penciled a big X on the score sheet and suppressed a grin. I didn’t want my only strike of the game to lure me into overconfidence.
When the ball returned to its cradle, I rehearsed the check list, exhaled and moved toward the foul line. The ball raced toward the pins and, moments later, launched them in a hundred directions.
“Hmmm,” I smiled for the first time that game. “I broke 100.” I glanced at the score sheet. Only one frame remained.
The third strike brought my score within reach of a respectable number. The next roll took out eight pins. My last toss of the game earned me a spare and a total of 149. One of my better scores.
I was glad I hadn’t tossed in the towel in the seventh frame.
For some of us who look back over our lives through the lens of human understanding, the temptation to give up -- to throw in the towel -- can seem nearly overwhelming. Our lives are rituals of fighting traffic, washing dishes, running errands, raising children . . . . We repent of sin when we first recognize it, remain diligent in prayer, grow in our hunger to know God’s word and His fellowship. We’re doing everything right and hope to offer Christ a smorgasbord of our fruit. But when we look through our lens at the score sheet, we see little more than a few grapes.
I know the feeling. During the last 32 years I’ve walked with Christ, I almost packed it in more than a few times. But that turn-around in my score reminded me (again) of an important spiritual principle: Persevering through a game of bowling is similar to persevering through the Christian life, and our fruitfulness for God is not finished until the last ball is thrown. Whether we are 45 years old, or 65; whether we think our lives half over, or just about gone, it’s not too late to take a deep breath and move again toward the foul line.
Teachers, truck drivers, single parents, mechanics, pastors, stay-at-home moms -- any child of God would make a serious mistake to toss in the towel before the last frame. Perhaps that’s why Scripture urges, “Let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we will reap if we do not grow weary” (Galatians 6:9).
If only one frame remains in the game, if we have only one more ball to throw, the Christian can trust the final score to God. We only need to keep throwing the ball toward the pins.
end
I hrrumphed back to my seat and mentally reviewed the basics: steady approach, eyes on the pins, smooth arm swing and reach toward the one-two pocket at the end of the alley. I was doing everything right, yet there it was on the score sheet : 71. The game was nearly over. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d bowled so badly, and I fought the temptation to pack my gear and go home.
The ball rumbled through the return and rolled to a stop. I slid my fingers into the holes, brought the ball to my chest and for the umpteenth time ran through the checklist: breathe easy, eyes on the pocket . . . .
The ball sailed toward the pins as it had a dozen times before -- but this time, all ten exploded as the 16-pounder smashed into the stubborn sentinels. I strolled back to the table, penciled a big X on the score sheet and suppressed a grin. I didn’t want my only strike of the game to lure me into overconfidence.
When the ball returned to its cradle, I rehearsed the check list, exhaled and moved toward the foul line. The ball raced toward the pins and, moments later, launched them in a hundred directions.
“Hmmm,” I smiled for the first time that game. “I broke 100.” I glanced at the score sheet. Only one frame remained.
The third strike brought my score within reach of a respectable number. The next roll took out eight pins. My last toss of the game earned me a spare and a total of 149. One of my better scores.
I was glad I hadn’t tossed in the towel in the seventh frame.
For some of us who look back over our lives through the lens of human understanding, the temptation to give up -- to throw in the towel -- can seem nearly overwhelming. Our lives are rituals of fighting traffic, washing dishes, running errands, raising children . . . . We repent of sin when we first recognize it, remain diligent in prayer, grow in our hunger to know God’s word and His fellowship. We’re doing everything right and hope to offer Christ a smorgasbord of our fruit. But when we look through our lens at the score sheet, we see little more than a few grapes.
I know the feeling. During the last 32 years I’ve walked with Christ, I almost packed it in more than a few times. But that turn-around in my score reminded me (again) of an important spiritual principle: Persevering through a game of bowling is similar to persevering through the Christian life, and our fruitfulness for God is not finished until the last ball is thrown. Whether we are 45 years old, or 65; whether we think our lives half over, or just about gone, it’s not too late to take a deep breath and move again toward the foul line.
Teachers, truck drivers, single parents, mechanics, pastors, stay-at-home moms -- any child of God would make a serious mistake to toss in the towel before the last frame. Perhaps that’s why Scripture urges, “Let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we will reap if we do not grow weary” (Galatians 6:9).
If only one frame remains in the game, if we have only one more ball to throw, the Christian can trust the final score to God. We only need to keep throwing the ball toward the pins.
end
posted by rich at
9:40 PM
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