Mario Kart!
posted by Luke Harper
11May
The other night I was out with a group of my friends and we stopped in a restaurant for some pizza. As I am downing seven slices of pepperoni pizza, I noticed an arcade classic, Mario-Kart, in the corner of the restaurant.
Back in the day, I was a Mario-Kart fanatic. I bought the game for my Nintendo 64 game system . I would stay up late into the night zoned in on winning the game’s “mushroom cup.” Sounds funny now, but it was really serious back then. So, I thought I relive the glory days and dominate my bud Travis in a little Mario racing.
As I sat down in front of the game, getting pumped to race, I noticed this little girl standing right next to me. She must have been seven or eight-years-old and presented herself to be a Mario-Kart expert. As she was watching me, she started telling me everything I was doing wrong!
As the game started getting intense with its sharp curves and turns, this little girl tried to take the wheel and direct my kart through the turns. I was shocked with her bold moves!
Who would have thought that I would meet someone who thought that they could be more skilled at this game then I thought I was. She was distracting my every move. The longer she was there, the more annoyed I became! But eventually I was able to regain my focus and proceeded to dominate the game. That night I left the arcade as the “mushroom cup” winner.
Maybe next time Travis!
Later that night, as I was re-living the thrill of being back behind the wheel as Mario in the game, I began to think about how easily I can be distracted–not just in arcade racing games, but in the race of life. This little girl distracted my gaming, but the bigger question I need to ask myself is who is distracting me from living my life in a way that honors my Lord?
As I started to think about this, I was reminded of the story of Josiah and how he was not distracted. Scripture says he did not turn to the left or to the right. Through this experience, I recognize I need to focus more on yielding to Christ and not be distracted by the things or the people of this world. I am trying to learn how to stay focused on the road ahead.
About the Author
Luke Harper is a high school student in Nashville, and plays three sports: football, basketball, and soccer. He spends most of his time at school, in the gym, or at church.
In his free time, he loves to write, watch ESPN, the Dallas Mavericks, the LSU Tigers, and the Tennessee Titans. He also likes playing video games and volleyball, and chillaxin with his friends. He loves road trips, youth trips, mission trips, pancakes, pasta, and sweet tea.
