Hockey

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Your Routines Are Too Important To Break

Breaking from your routines can have an effect on your day.

your routines are too important to break

Routines are important; we all have them. We use routines for almost every aspect of our lives. In fact, the way you tie your shoe laces is a routine.

And another thing: when you break a routine, it can mess you up. 

I have a routine every morning when I make my breakfast. But every once in a while I will do something out of order. It’s funny how I will stumble through making my breakfast that morning.

Routines are more than something we are accustomed to. They even get programmed into how our minds and bodies work. That means some of our routines become a part of who we are and how we function. 

That’s a good thing, by the way, because when a routine is so ingrained in us, we don’t even think about it. We just do it. It takes no thought on our part. It’s a process that works automatically.

And when you think about it, it would be brutal to have to use your brain to think through every thing you do. 

Routines are a lifesaver. 

Routines work in the background. You don’t even know all the routines you have. But during the day you use many of them to do things that you consider automatic.

But what happens when something interrupts a routine?

Maybe you have a morning routine to start your day, but you have an early meeting scheduled. It could be as simple as having to play hockey that clashes with your morning routine.

Of course you are going to play hockey and forget your routine that morning. You can usually work around routines, they are never life or death.

But they become such an important part of us that when we break those routines, even to do something we like, the routines makes us pay.

When we snub some of our basic routines, we can subsequently feel off-kilter for a while. 

In fact, maybe during that game of hockey that you broke your routine for, you might not play up to your standards. And the only thing you can point to as the cause of your sub-standard play is that routine that you broke.

The good thing is that breaking a routine doesn’t have to impact your life for a long time. You can easily get back on track – even by just making sure that you start your next day with your routine before doing anything else. 

However, if things in your life change, routines can change and be adapted. 

It might take a week or two. You may have to give it some time or thought, but before you know it, you make adjustments to your routine and everything is back to normal.

You are regular again.

Here’s the thing: The best way to meet with God is to have a routine – one that you don’t have to think about, that’s automatic. If you have time with God at the same time each day, know where you will do it and have what you need ready for you, when something comes up to break that routine, it won’t ruin you. You might feel off-kilter for a bit, but if you get back at the routine, everything will be back to normal by the next day.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What routine do you need to set up or change? Leave your comments and questions below.

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I’m Trying To Lose My COVID 19

Somehow COVID has caught up with me and I’m trying to lose it now. … I guess saying it that way is better than saying that I have COVID 19.

I'm trying to lose my COVID 10

Let me clarify. 

The other day when I was playing hockey, I came back to the bench exhausted and frustrated with my play. As I settled into my spot on the bench, I said “I have COVID 19”, to which another guy on the bench responded, “I’m doing better than you; I only have COVID 15.”

We were talking about how many pounds we’ve gained since the whole COVID thing started.

I remember when I was in college, there was a running joke called “the Freshman 15”. It referred to how the freshmen girls gained about that many pounds on a steady diet of cafeteria food.

Some of the guys thought it was funny; not so much the freshman girls.

For me and my 19 pounds – which is pretty close to accurate – it’s been a steady incline. 

At the beginning, there was the loss of sports available to play, coupled with a nagging knee problem that kept me from working out in my home gym.

But as time when on, and the underlying pressure to isolate continued, I really lost my motivation to stay fit. 

It was too easy to have that extra Dr. Pepper during the week – well, maybe two extra. 

And I remembered just how good a Big Turk chocolate bar tasted. 

And those Twizzler commercials looked so fun, I had to have some liquorice.

After a while I lost my motivation all together to work out at home. I found that I was more tired than normal.

And all the time my COVID went from 7 to 10 pounds. 

There were days that I was determined to get back to exercising. But when I would get home from work, I would just look at the equipment, shake my head and grab a Twizzler while I watched TV.

The more time went by, my COVID started rising to 13, then 17 pounds. 

There were a couple of T-shirts that I didn’t wear this summer because, well, they were just too tight and I didn’t want to look like a “person of Walmart”.

But now I think I’ve turned a corner and I’m trying to lose my COVID 19.

I’ve exercised every day this week and I’ve refrained (for the most part) from stuffing my face with chocolate, chips and ice cream.

As hard as it was to turn the lights on in my home gym and to sit down on my rowing machine, I did it. I did it once and that made it easier to do it again. It got easier each day.

I’m not sure what it was that got me motivated. It might have been how sluggish I’ve felt playing hockey. 

It might be a fear of my body getting out of control. And I know there was some concern for my health.

I don’t want another heart attack. 

It’s probably all these things that came together to spur me on to lose my COVID once and for all. 

Here’s the thing: Many people are confronted with the claims of Christ. Some are convinced. Yet they still fail to follow through and commit to Christ. If that is you, ask yourself, “What will it take to motivate me to place my faith in Christ and follow Him?”

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What do you need motivation for right now? Leave your comments and questions below.

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A Tale Of Two Cities … Or Something Like That

Today I have a tale of two cities. Well, that book has already been written so mine is a tale of two arenas.

A tale of two cities ... or something like that

In the book, the story is played out in the two cities of Paris and London. In my tale, there are also two cities but, to be fair, one is a city and the other is a town. … Just the same, the story plays out in these two places.

That is the only similarity between my tale and the well-known Dickens’ novel, but there is an equal amount of intrigue and mystery to figure out. 

I live in the city of Kingston – an old city by Canadian standards. It was even going to be the capital city of Canada until the Queen of England stepped in and declared Ottawa the capital … there’s some drama right there. 

I’ve been playing hockey in my city for 24 years at a number of arenas, with largely the same group of guys. We played at noon several times a week, for one hour and twenty minutes.

Since COVID, things have changed dramatically. 

There is now only a couple of arenas open; several others don’t even have ice in them.

I’ve written about having to come to the arena dressed to play (you can read about that here). I’ve basically been putting on the majority of my equipment in the rink parking lot. And as the temperatures drop, this will get more and more uncomfortable. 

But recently some of the guys I’ve played hockey with over the years started playing in a town just down the road. It’s literally 20 minutes from where I live. 

At the arena in that town – Napanee – you can get dressed in the change rooms and you can even leave your equipment bag there. You can even take a shower after you finish playing. 

You still have to where a mask before and after hockey, and you do have to clear the dressing room 15 minutes after the game.

Two cities: 20 minutes apart – different rules. 

In my town, we can’t even leave an equipment bag in the dressing room while we play. We have to take everything to the bench. 

You might think that these two different cities make their own decisions, but both places are within the same health unit. And right now it’s the health units that call the shots on what can and cannot be done for the health and safety of its citizens.

One town looks at the rules and guidelines laid down by the health unit and has determined how they can abide by the rules, yet still make it viable for people who want to play hockey. 

The other city looks at the same rules and guidelines and determines how uncomfortable they can make it for people to play hockey. 

Guess where I’m playing hockey these days?

Here’s the thing: We all live under rules in this life. We can either interpret them our own way or follow how God has set them out for us. Either way we get to live life here on earth. But just like putting hockey equipment on in the parking lot will become unbearable as the weather gets colder, there will come a time when following your own interpretation of life’s rules will become unbearable. Don’t wait until then to follow God because that option won’t always be available. Choose to follow Christ now. 

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What change do you need to make right now? Leave your comments and questions below.

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It’s In The Books And It Was Different

Well, my first hockey game of the season is now officially in the books. 

It's In the books and it was different

…I probably wouldn’t have commented on it – there was nothing stellar about the game – but what led up to the on-ice time and afterwards is worth making some observations on.

For most of my life, hockey has been part of the changing of seasons in the fall. 

I start by putting away the golf clubs, while biking begins to peter out. There are just more bad weather days than good ones for these outside sports. 

Hockey starts to become my main sporting activity and usually near the end of September I get my first taste of the new season.

This year not only did I get my first taste, it came in a new flavour.

With COVID comes new rules and restrictions. Some are not so good; some are a little uncomfortable. 

Besides the predictable rules of having to sign in and wear masks until we put our helmets on, we could only show up fifteen minutes before our game, could only use the dressing rooms to lace up our skates, and were not allowed to leave anything in the dressing rooms. 

… When I describe it like that, it sounds easy – except it means we now have to come into the rink dressed for the game … like we did when we were seven years old! 

I had visions of being wedged in my car between the seat and the steering wheel and not making it to my game in time! 

The reality though is that we are now dressing in the parking lot. 

I showed up with my hockey undergarments on and a pair of sweats. With the back hatch of my car opened like a locker, I stood in the parking lot and put on my shin pads, pants, elbow pads and sweater. 

The important note here is you want to make sure your jock shorts are in good shape and that you are not wearing ones that you’ve had for ten years and have become a little holely, if you know what I mean.

That would not be a pretty show. 

Walking into the arena carrying my stick, with skates, gloves and helmet all in a bag was painless. … I had contemplated the skates and helmet skewered on my stick like a shish kebab look but decided to put them all in a gym bag instead. It was definitely the way to go. 

Another downside was with the regulations to prepare for the next group, we had to get off the ice as soon as our hour was up; there was no extra time.

On the upside, with not being able to change in the dressing room or use the showers, I found I was out of the rink in record time. 

When it was all said and done, this is going to take a little getting used to. … And I can hardly wait until my new outdoor locker room is sub-zero temperatures!

Here’s the thing: In some cases, we are making big changes because of COVID. We want to do certain things, so we are willing to make the necessary changes. What big changes are you willing to make for God? When you are confronted with something in your life that does not please God, are you willing to make changes because you care about pleasing Him with your life? Let’s be as willing to change for God as we are to make changes for other things we view as important. 

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What change do you need to consider making right now? Leave your comments and questions below.

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I Gave Up On Them … There, I Admit It

I have to admit it: I gave up on them … but maybe it was for the best. 

I gave up on them ... There, I admit it

It is strange talking about hockey and the Toronto Maple Leafs in the middle of the summer, but anything goes this year.

By the time this post is published the final game of the series will already have been played. Their win last night might not matter, but what does matter is how I responded to the game last night. 

First, I wasn’t sure I could take watching the game at all, so I went for a long walk on the beach with my wife, Lily. The Leafs were battling it out while I was getting great drone shots of the sunset.

When I did start watching the game, I will be the first to admit that I turned the TV station when the Leafs went down 3-0 in the final half of the third period.  

I gave up on them.

I was convinced that it was over and that their season had come to an end. I’d seen the scenario take place too many times to watch it play out to its end. 

I flicked the channels for a bit, settling on a movie when I decided to check my watch. … I get scoring updates on my watch. I figured the game was over so I looked to see what the final score was. 

I couldn’t believe my eyes!

It said the game was 3-3, and that could only mean one thing: we were in overtime! 

I quickly grabbed the remote and turned back to the game. The first overtime period had just begun. 

There were chances at both ends. At times it looked liked the Leafs were beat, but our goalie made a save or one of our players cleared the puck. 

At one point, my son texted Lily and asked how my heart was doing. Lily texted back, “He gave up on them, but is watching now”. 

His response was “maybe it was the healthiest thing he could do.” 

The curious thing is, if I had have been at the game in person, I would not have left the building until the final horn sounded. I would have been there to watch every agonizing minute of the game. 

But being at home, watching from my couch, the sense of despair ate at me. Then it became 3-0 and it was too easy to just turn it off. It was too easy to walk away, find another program to watch, focus my mind on something more pleasant, become distracted from how I was feeling. 

As tense as the overtime was, I didn’t turn away. There was hope, a chance the Leafs could win. 

And then it happened. The four big stars of the team came together – Rielly to Marner to Tavares to Matthews, who made no mistake. 

They WON!! 

And my heart, at least for then, was at rest.

Here’s the thing: Maybe you are not a quitter. You would never give up on God or church. But maybe from your couch it becomes easier to have your heart turn to other things. Maybe all the bad news, the changed world, the no magic fix for the virus, the possible years we will have to distance and protect ourselves is too discouraging. So the easy solution is to turn your attention elsewhere. Let me just say, this is not the time to give up on God or the church. Now is the time to tune in, show up, be more vigilant than ever. Christ won on the cross and He will come in victory. 

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What’s your plan for staying connected to Christ? Leave your comments and questions below.

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Why The Older You Get The Harder It Gets To Keep Going

This post is republished from January, 2014. I hope you enjoy it.

This morning I played hockey at 6:30 am and, as I reflect on it, I am feeling older. Both my elbows are sore. I’m not sure whether I have tennis elbow or some other injury, but I think I just have to live with it, if I want to keep playing.  

older

This was my first game since before Christmas so I’m still a little winded right now, lounging on my couch in our family room writing this blog. I haven’t done anything active for a while (except shovel snow) so I wasn’t at the top of my game.

There were younger guys playing who had lots of energy. I used to have energy, loved to skate hard and could go forever. Now my hips get tired if I go for too long, so I have to coast a bit or go back on defence.

I notice I’m playing defence a lot more these days. I used to hate being a rear guard, working behind the play, throwing the puck up to the forwards and watching the play develop.  

I was always in the middle of the action. I was quick to break out and always went to the net. I still play with that sense and urge, except now I don’t mind taking a turn initiating the play and watching it unfold as I coast up the ice catching my breath.  

Don’t get me wrong, I would never want to be a full-time defenceman – that’s not me. It’s just that I need a change of pace from skating hard and crashing the net. 

I was a little surprised this morning that my knee felt pretty good. I wear a custom-made carbon fibre brace on my left knee, to give it support because of a torn ACL. I’ve been wearing this brace and it’s predecessor for the past 23 years.

This thing has been a lifesaver. With it, I’ve been able to play baseball, hockey, snow ski, and water ski. Without it, I doubt I would have been able to do any of those things.  

But even with my brace, in the last while my knee has not felt as stable. It feels like it is deteriorating a bit and I may need to have it scoped again some time.  

Being a pastor, I’ve done my fare share of visiting people in the hospital who’ve had hip replacements, knee replacements, and open heart surgery, and their stories stick with me. I hope I won’t be in their place one day.

However, with all my aches and pains, I can’t rule that out. I never saw myself as having parts that would wear out. Now I wonder about that.  

My right elbow has regressed, it feels like it did about two weeks ago. It hurts to even bring my hand up to my face. Oh well, I’ll play again on Monday and try to get myself back in shape. Once I start playing I don’t really think about my aches and pains. 

There’s something about being in the action that dulls all those twinges of discomfort.

Here’s the thing: It’s easy to let little annoyances and pains stop you from doing activities that are good for you. They can become a great excuse, and justify giving up. You find the same thing in your spiritual growth. Little things will try to keep you from continuing on the path of growth. Don’t give in, keep growing.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What do you find gets in the way of you growing spiritually? Leave your comment below.

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An Amazing, Quick Turnaround

It is amazing how quick things can turn around. It doesn’t take much to get the mind going in a completely different direction.

Amazing, Quick Turnaround

Just over a week ago, the team that I chaplain in the OHL was riding an eleven game losing streak. 

I could see the frustration in the players’ eyes, hear it in their voices, and could tell they were losing confidence. They were wondering if there would ever be an end to the streak they were on. 

When you can’t buy a win, you begin to doubt yourself, your teammates and even your coaches. 

It’s like being on that teacup ride at Disney World where you are spinning at a dizzying pace. You just want off. You can’t control the spin of the cup you are in, and you want the operator to shut the ride down. In the meantime you keep spiralling downward, feeling sick as your stomach moves closer to your mouth.

I’m sure the team felt much like that. You lose hope that there is anything that will change your circumstances. 

I remember being on a team that went a whole season with only two wins. It was brutal. By the end of the season we were not even thinking of winning. All I could hope for was to maybe score a goal so I had something to feel good about.

But when you have been down for an extended time, you find you don’t have the hope inside you to even wish for a little thing that would be good.

If something small changes, however – even the slightest encouragement – it brings hope back like the tide coming in from the ocean. 

It’s like winter that can drag on and on, pushing you down and down. But when you see that first little bud on a tree, even though it’s still brown and shrivelled, or one blade of grass that is green, your hope of spring comes rushing back to you.

What was amazing about my team was that, just over a week later, they won four straight games and have had points in five consecutive outings.

They are riding on a huge wave of hope right now. They’ve even climbed out of the basement in their division. 

It started with a loss in overtime. They still got a point and could have easily won. That’s when their hope emerged. 

That hope gave them something to believe in the next night and they won that game. 

Their hope was alive, and it was like it had never left them. Their hope was new and fresh; it was bold. You could see it on their faces; you could hear it in their voices. 

And they kept riding that hope to another and another victory – four straight wins.

Hope – just a little of it – can spark something in us that keeps us going until something else comes along to increase our hope. 

It is amazing.

Here’s the thing: Wherever you are at in life right now – riding a crest of hope or scratching to find any semblance of hope – understand that true hope is not found in you or anything you can do, not even a fortunate happenstance. Hope is with you; hope is always with you. Real hope is found in Jesus Christ. And if you will seek Him, spend time with Him, speak to Him, He will show you the hope that you can have in any situation. Your mind can be changed in a moment. That’s truly amazing.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What do you need hope for right now? Leave your comments and questions below.

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Reflecting On Your Life Is The Start Of A Change

Today, after I got home from the rink, I was reflecting on my play. 

reflecting on your life

It wasn’t my most stellar day on the ice: in the first shift I ran into one of my teammates by the boards and fell down. In two attempts to get up, I fell or almost fell over again. 

Some of the guys I’ve played with for years got concerned. They know I’ve had a heart attack … and that it happened playing hockey … though that was seven years ago. 

Several guys asked me if I was alright, and suggested that I should sit on the bench for a bit. 

I knew that I was fine, but I did feel a little embarrassed that I had trouble getting back up on my feet.

If I had a video of me playing pickup with the boys last year at this time, and compared it to video of my game today, I think it would show a huge difference.

I’ve lost a few really noticeable steps in my game, and in only one year.

It’s similar to watching a movie you like over and over again for years. Then when the actor makes a new movie, you notice, “Wow. They’ve all of a sudden really aged.” 

You were so used to seeing them at the age they were when the first movie came out that it’s a shocker to see them in their present state.

The Bourne movies are like that for me. There were three movies that came out over the course of three years: Bourne Identity, Bourne Supremacy, and Bourne Ultimatum.

They are probably my favourite movies of all time. I’ve watched them over and over.

Then, about nine years later, they made another Bourne movie that was simply called, “Jason Bourne”.

Wow, what a difference! The actor, Matt Damon, had really aged in that one. He still had some of his brilliance from the earlier movies, but he was a little more ragged. 

We don’t see the aging process in the movies. The actors are stuck in time; they seem timeless.

Oh, but not me; I’ve aged. I’m only one year older than last year, but I feel like I’m five years older on the ice.

For me it’s not a time trick or a movie illusion. As I was reflecting on it today, for me it’s my knee.

My knee has been causing me problems (I wrote about it here) and has then made my on-ice experience more complicated.

Because my knee has been weak, I haven’t exercised much. I’ve also cut down on how much hockey I play this year. Those are two things that degrade my play.

But there is another spinoff effect and that is, I’ve gained weight. I’m about 10 pounds heavier than last year at this time and, for me, that’s a big deal when skating.  

Because my knee has been sore, I’ve not exercised and, because I’ve not exercised, I’ve gained weight. 

So today, reflecting on all these issues have made me feel like I’ve aged several years on the ice. 

Somehow I need to roll back the time.

Here’s the thing: If there’s something in your life that you’re putting off dealing with, something that you think you don’t need to make right with God at this time, beware that it might not take long before your life shows signs of problems in other areas because of one area you refused to make right with God. Don’t make that mistake. At present, you may be showing more than your age.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What do you need to take to God right now? Leave your comments and questions below.

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My Injuries Keep Coming

I’m finding it more difficult to diagnose minor injuries than I used to. 

Years ago, when I had an ache or a pain, I could pinpoint the precise cause or incident of my injury. Now, when I find myself with a bit of discomfort, I’m not necessarily sure what happened to bring it on.

This is all new for me. For my wife, Lily, on the other hand, this is a phenomenon that has plagued her most of her life!

Throughout our marriage when Lily would say, “I’m sore”, and I would ask her what happened or what she had done, she would always say, “I don’t know. I’m just sore.” If she got a bruise, about 90 percent of the time she didn’t know how she got it. 

I’m kind of catching up to her in this regard, because lately I’ve had some sore spots on my body that are a little mysterious.

I wrote about my sore elbow back in the fall (read about it here), and although it is now slowly getting better, it’s been six months of pain. … I still have to be careful to warm up before I start taking shots on a goalie. 

It turned out to be a ligament problem and I’m still not completely sure how I got it … although possibly it was from excessive wrist shots in hockey.

The latest thing that has been bugging me is a sore thumb around the joint on my left hand. It’s been sore for a few weeks now. 

And I don’t have a clue how it happened!  

I wondered if I was getting a touch of arthritis when the knuckle at the base of my index finger of my right hand got swollen and very painful.

I didn’t have any explanation for my knuckle either, and it has been swollen now for close to two weeks. … It doesn’t help that I sometimes move it the wrong way or that people shake my hand with a little pressure. 

One of the guys I play hockey with said it was gout, but that was because he had just finished experiencing some gout in his foot. I knew his diagnosis was only based on his experience and had nothing to do with really being able to identify my problem.

But yesterday at church, I may have figured something out. 

I asked my doctor if I possibly have a bit of arthritis, but when I described what I was experiencing, he didn’t agree. So I responded that maybe I did just injury it. He kind of nodded.

A few minutes later I was talking with a group of other people and the topic of injuries came up.  While I was relaying to them my conversation with my doctor an idea came to my mind. 

I had grabbed a puck out of the air with my hand a week or so ago. Maybe – just maybe – my sore knuckle was a result of catching that puck with my hand. 

My conclusion: injuries come more easily as we age, but also our memory is not as sharp in identifying incidents with injuries. 

Here’s the thing: The only way to prevent sin from going unnoticed in your life is to stay diligent in identifying and addressing it each time. When you let sin slide, your memory starts to fade, and you then don’t easily identify the ramifications to that sin. Stay on top of your sin by identifying it right away and dealing with it. It will lessen the chance of a lingering sore spot.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What mystery in your life do you need to identify? Leave your comments below

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Hockey Is Like A Drug To Me

The title of this post is not completely accurate – really it is the Toronto Maple Leafs that are like a drug to me … and not necessarily in a good way. 

To make this analogy work, hockey would be the needle and the Leafs would be the drug.

It seems like every year, come playoff time, I inject myself with this drug and I overdose. 

I’m not talking about watching too much of the Leafs, or watching too much hockey in general.  I’m talking about OD’ing with my emotions. 

You see, a drug is supposed to give you some euphoric feeling – like everything is groovy, everything feels more real, and you can be like superman. And I’m sure you’ve heard all the other descriptions of how some drugs manifest in an addict. 

I do call myself an addict here because I can’t seem to stop taking the drug. 

And like a true addict, I don’t admit that I have a problem at all, even when the symptoms are pointed out to me.

But the day of the game, I’m a little agitated. I can’t tell you why – maybe I got up on the wrong side of the bed; maybe I didn’t get enough sleep the night before.

Maybe it’s just that the Leafs are playing Boston tonight in game 4 of the playoffs … and the drug is flowing through my veins, rapidly making its way through my corpuscles to my heart. 

I know this because, by the time dinner rolls around, I’m not just a little hangry because I need food. There is way more going on than that.

I’m nervous like a junky who’s late for his fix. I can’t really sit still, so I pace between rooms, semi-listening to Lily tell me what has happened during her day, and trying to pick up on the predictions and analysis of the pregame show on TV.

I’m like a caged lion on the prowl … and it’s uncontrollable. 

When the game starts, I’m all tense. It’s like I have a rubber band around my arm and my veins are starting to pop for my injection.

And that is when I overdose. 

I never hit that high where everything is going to be all right. I never get that sense of sailing on silver clouds. … Maybe you get that reference, but it doesn’t matter. You know that this is a bad trip I’m on. 

And it lasts about two and a half hours. 

Well, that is not exactly true. If the Leafs lose, I go into a downer and then you might as well not talk to me, talk around me, or make comments, funny or otherwise. 

I’ve bottomed out.  

If the Leafs win, well it’s not like it was a great trip I was on. It’s just a relief that it’s over and I’m happy I’m still alive or that the Leafs are still alive in the playoffs. 

At any rate, I’m left feeling alone in my addiction. No one in my family really understands.

Here’s the thing: Two thousand years ago, Jesus was feeling much like I do. But His passion was for us – a love for everyone that He had in abundance – so much so that He endured all kinds of emotional and physical angst and pain. No one understood. He went through those agonizing hours to pay for the sins of the world – your sin, my sin – not just for a win, but for eternity. Christ died on the cross for you. Think on that this Easter.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What has you all tied up but you can’t give up? Leave your comments below.