smarter

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I’ll Be Smarter This Time

I’m going to be smarter this time. I’m not going to start back to playing sports until I’m fully healed.

Someone mentioned to me recently that I should act my age. I thought I was … but maybe when it comes to sports I still think like I did when I was in my 40’s.

I shouldn’t be treating my body that way. 

Zedano Chara, of the Boston Bruins, is playing in the NHL playoffs with a broken jaw. But, hey, he’s only 42. I did that kind of stuff when I was 42 as well. But I shouldn’t be thinking I can still do that stuff now at my age. 

I have lived with a torn ACL (anterior cruciate ligament) in my left knee for about 35 years.  

I still play sports because I have a custom-made brace that has worked amazingly for me. In fact, I’m on my second brace. I had my knee scoped 27 years ago and have had my second brace about as long as my first one. 

It may need to be replaced soon. … I’ve been thinking more about that since my knee has been bothering me this last month. 

I’ve notice over the last few years that after a game of hockey my knee feels a little unstable. So now I don’t play two days in a row. 

It got sore several weeks ago and I’ve kind of been both resting it and playing through it – going mountain biking.

Soon afterwards I was going over my sermon before I preached and noticed that, after standing still, my knee wouldn’t bend easily. I was walking on the platform like Frankenstein. 

To not scare any of my congregants away, I drove home and put on my brace. My knee felt more secure and I moved better. I did that for two weeks. 

This past Sunday I didn’t need my brace. I thought my knee was pretty much better and it was … not 100% but mostly better. 

Well, I played hockey on Tuesday and the next day was wearing my brace to work. The knee was swollen and sore again. 

Back in my 40’s I could have gotten away with playing. But I can’t any more. 

I need to be a little smarter and, for me, that means I need to be a little more patient and wait until it feels completely better – not just mostly.

When we were kids and would scrape our knees, our mom would give our knees a kiss and say, “It’s all better now.” 

Somehow, though there was still some pain, and the red lines of the scrape were still visible, we believed our mom. Her words were comforting enough to get us out playing again. 

But for me, now, I need to be smarter with my body and give the healing process a little more time. 

Here’s the thing: Sometimes I think that God must wonder if I will ever get smarter with Him. I go to Him with the same confessions, same requests, same needs. It’s like I’m not getting any smarter. I fall to the same temptations, the same inner pressures, when what I should be doing at this stage in my life is depending on the Holy Spirit’s power more. That’s what being smarter with God is all about.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: How could you depend on the Holy Spirit more this week? Leave your comments below.

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Why Your Mother-in law May Be Smarter Than Your Smart Phone

My smart phone is a pretty amazing device, but I think my mother-in-law is still smarter.

grama smarter

I had to do a funeral service in Ottawa, about two hours from Kingston where I live. I wanted to make sure that I got to the right place so I googled the name of the cemetery and found an address. I thought, just to be sure there weren’t two cemeteries with the same name or two locations in opposite ends of the city, I would phone my mother-in-law.

There is a reason why I wanted to be sure where I was going. Several years ago, I did a funeral in town and the following day was to do the committal service at a cemetery in another city that I wasn’t familiar with.

I got the address and left with plenty of time to spare. But the map took me to the opposite end of the city from the cemetery! I was so panicky, I pulled into a place where I knew I would find some local people: Tim Horton’s.

With sketchy directions, I drove like a mad man. I’m sure all those gathered, waiting for the late pastor to arrive, heard the roar of my engine as I came screaming into the cemetery and up to the grave side.

There was no way I was going to have that happen again! When I called my mother-in-law, I had to leave a message, so I got on my smart phone and used my map app to get directions. I thought I was all set.

A few hours later, my mother-in-law called me back. When I told her what I did, she casually gave me directions. As she did, I realized that her directions were a little different than those the map app had given me.

I decided to go with my mother-in-law’s directions.

The first indication that I was going to be on time for the service was when I passed the hearse about half way to Ottawa. I knew then, at the speed I was going, I would buy myself several minutes even if I got lost.

In the end, my mother-in-law’s directions were more direct and saved me time. The downside was I had to put up with my smart phone telling me to make a U-turn, and to “get back on route”.

My mother-in-law could outsmart a smart phone because she has lived in that city a long time and she’s driven to that cemetery before. It wasn’t just programmed information she read or somehow digested. She had personal experience with that route.

Here’s the thing: We can read books that give us information about God and His ways. But it is our experience of God and His ways in our life that give us insight and wisdom to help others. Never settle for information about God. Go the next step and experience that information … that will give you real wisdom to share.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: In your life, how has experience trumped information? Leave your comment below.