When the right opportunity presents itself, you have to take the plunge.

If you don’t, you end up kicking yourself later – like when you missed the sale and the store is now out of the product you want … and they don’t know when they will be getting more.

It’s a bad feeling. When you have experienced it once, you don’t want to experience it again.

So I bought the hockey stick last week. … That’s right, that was my right opportunity. I found a stick with my curve pattern. That might not sound like a big deal, but stores don’t normally stock my stick pattern. 

Hockey sticks all have a pattern name and number unique to the curve of that stick, and specific to their manufacturers. I’ve been using the same curve for twenty plus years. But fewer and fewer people are using the heal curve and now it is near impossible to find it. 

So when you see one in the stores, you really have to consider taking the plunge and doling out the $100 or more to get it. 

There are lots of people who spend more money on their hockey sticks, but not many who spend more time on them than I do. 

Finding a stick is a long process, but so is getting it ready to use. 

I cut my sticks down. In fact, the guys I play with tease me for using junior sticks.  

But not only do I cut my sticks down by maybe eighteen inches, I also use a six inch wood insert at the top of the handle. And before I’m ready to tape it, I take a rasp to that wood handle and shave it down so that it comfortably fits in the palm of my right hand. Then I take a heat gun to both the stick and handle to insert the handle into the shaft of the stick. 

Finally, I’m ready to tape the stick. 

The other day I was in a sports store, checking out their selection of hockey sticks … because that’s what I do. 

I’m ever hopeful that I will find a stick with my curve – it’s the Lidstrom curve. Nicolas Lidstrom was a NHL all-star who played for the Detroit Red Wings for twenty seasons but hasn’t played since 2012.

My stick’s curve pattern is still referred to as the Lidstrom curve. Every store clerk that knows anything about hockey sticks, even if he never saw Nick Lidstrom play hockey, knows the name. 

So when I found a Lidstrom stick last week, I bought it. 

The next day I used the stick for the first time and, based on how I felt about it after the game, I went back and bought another one.

Yes, I dropped $200 on two sticks, one of which I might not cut down and use for a couple of years. But I took the plunge because the opportunity was before me and the next time I need a stick, I might not be able to find one. 

Here’s the thing: When you are presented with the right opportunity, you need to take the plunge. Christ came into our world to live a sinless life and take upon Himself the punishment for our sin. He did this so that we could be accepted by God who is Himself sinless. There is no possible way we can be accepted by God on our own. What Christ has done is an opportunity we can’t get any other way. Don’t miss this opportunity – take the plunge.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What opportunity are you being presented with right now? Leave your comments and questions below.