29 Sep

Another Game…Another Heart-Attack

posted by Daniel Blackaby

Sniffing the air, the sweet aroma gently caressed my nostrils, Aw, if ‘Perfect’ had a scent, surely it would be thee! Few smells can stir such emotion, or command such passion as the glorious fragrance of–a hockey bag. Each piece of equipment uniquely perfuming the air: the odor of sweaty shoulder-pads bringing back my first childhood game, the scent of moldy shin pads rekindling thoughts of glorious goals. The time has come after four-year hibernation from hockey, I would return to the ice–and recapture my former glory.

Having recently migrated from hockey-crazed western Canada to if-its-not-football-its-not-a-sport South Carolina, I vowed to educate these ‘Southerners’ on a thing-or-two about our “Canadian game.” Enrolling myself in a local adult hockey league (aka ‘washed-up-has-been-league’), I arrived at the rink for game one and marched into the dressing room. Today the prodigal son comes home, I thought to myself.

All eyes turned to me; the aura of my veteran presence reeked with authority. “Boys,” I barked, my teammates snapping to attention. “We’ll play a tight left-wing lock, quick D-to-D up-ice transition, aggressive fore-check…then light-the-lamp!”

Stepping onto the ice I immediately burst off, darting around like “The Flash.” My leg muscles began to tingle as they woke from their prolonged slumber, but understanding that my team relied on me to set the standard, this warrior battled through the pain! “AHHH!”

A burning sensation manifested in my upper thigh, as sweat rained down my brow, flooding the ice. Legs shaking uncontrollably, yet still I torturously pushed my wobbly body across the ice. Puke climbing up my throat and vision going black, I released one final agonizing scream before collapsing in a mangled heap to the ice.

Gasping desperately for breath, I stared up to the ceiling. I could faintly make out Saint Peter waving me towards the pearly gates. Each muscle too devastated by the pain to rise, I smiled as I heard a teammate skating towards me, undoubtedly rushing to aid his motivational leader. In a perfect moment of brotherhood he called my name, inspirational music playing through the loudspeakers, “Daniel…get up…The five minute pre-game warm-up is over; we gotta start the game now!” Lord take me home…

Many times Christians make the same mistake that I foolishly made, relying on previous experience or training to satisfy their current situation–perhaps a mission trip, or a Christian camp where God deeply moved them, or maybe just a period of time where they experienced a solid, and continual devotion or quiet time. It’s easy to simply coast with the knowledge or experiences we’ve had.

This however, is not what God intended. He calls us into an ever-growing relationship with Him; we must be daily obedient and open to His guidance. The experiences we may have had last summer may not be adequate for the trial or task God knows is just around the corner.

Just like our human bodies, our spiritual bodies need to be continually trained and exercised if we wish to maintain a healthy and abundant relationship with God. Have you been training lately? Or have you been merely relying on previous training to sustain you?

Then he said to them all: “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.” Luke 9:23

Filed in: Discipleship, Purpose

About the Author

Daniel Blackaby is a junior in college, living in Simpsonville, SC. His biggest passions in life are music and literature. He plays guitar in a Christian rock band and also plays bass guitar, drums, and keyboard.

Apart from playing music, Daniel loves to listen to all types of music and has over 700 CDs on his iTunes. He admits he’s a huge nerd who loves to read and enjoys collecting classic literature. He loves to hang out and have a good time, but his primary goal is to try and live life to the fullest and glorify God in everything he does. You can contact him by email at boonster11@hotmail.com.

Read more about Daniel here.