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| causing quite a racquet! |
and also of madness and folly, but I learned that this, too,
is a chasing after the wind. - Ecclesiastes 1:17
Thwap! Boom! Swoosh! *Grunt* *Yelp* Ahhhhhhhh!
Yes these are the sounds you would have heard as I competed on the racquetball court with my hubby Cor on Monday night. These are also the sounds that have taken residence in our lives. To say we have been busy this past month is a laughable quote. Time, energy, tears, tearing of hair have been spent in abundance. Working at a new job, getting glasses for the toddler, taking our beach vacation, teaching Sunday School, and scheduling appointments - lots and lots of appointments are some of the highlights of why I have been so quiet about this HealthFULL Journey. There has been lots to say with little time to share.
With our hectic schedules you can see why I feel like I am chasing the wind. I feel I have the grasp of a situation or have captured a moment of wisdom and then it slides right through my fingers and I am left holding - NOTHING! It is a frustrating pursuit, but I continue on this path because that moment of capture - that split second where you feel you have reached the treasured goal - your heart bursts with pride, your lips curve in a smile, and that glow of satisfaction starts to wash over you. Only starts to cover you because in that next second you have lost that moment and again begin to desperately chase the opportunity that was just within your grasp.
My life this past month has felt like a game of racquetball. And not just any game of racquetball but the heated match between Corey and myself 9/24/12. My husband greeted me after work after we both were running thirty minutes late (which equals out the thirty minutes I was late to work - shocker I got lost!!!) We stopped by the front desk to request a court to begin our battle and also the equipment. You can see we are hard-core athletes when it comes to this fast-paced game. It had been about a decade since either of us had played - but that didn't stop us from our pursuit to battle to the death - or until our twenty five minutes were done as both courts were already scheduled for that time.
We entered the court, gripped our racquets, and securely placed our protective eyegear. My husband gets ready to serve that little rubber ball of speed and force. Oh timeout! My glasses are fogging up. A phenomenon I know well as I began wearing glasses at age five in Northern Minnesota. My gracious husband switched goggles as he had not had any trouble with his pair. Double drat these fogged up on me too. We haven't even started playing and I can't see. I feel these protective eyewear are not going to help me avoid danger as much as place me directly in the path of the lightning quick ammunition as a suitable target. Again a perfect way to describe how some of these past weeks have felt. What should protect and help me in my journey has served as direct missiles and choosing me as the perfect target for crazy explosion. But back to the game.
We begin to play and I learn to peer through the fogginess (my curse of a short button nose!) or where I one hand my racquet and lift my glasses for a quick reprieve of every three seconds. The game of racquetball is full of interesting and may I add "comical" noises. I believe this is where comic book writers are inspired for their noises describing their combat sequences. "Thwap!" "Boom!" *Whistling Missile* "Pow!" "Grrr!" "Ow!" The last Ow that might just be me as that little blue bomb hits me in the shoulder.
The great thing about racquetball is that you can hit the ball in any direction - Sides, back wall, front wall, floor, and ceiling count . . . well at least in the version we played. But I believe everyone else allows for the sides, back, and front wall. The object of the game is to reach fifteen points. You are allowed only one bounce before that satisfying smack sends the ball ricocheting around the room closely resembling a padded cell (without the padding) in an insane asylum. Even the door looks impossible to open from the inside as the "knob" nestles inside the door as to avoid injury in your quick pursuit to hit that little bouncing wonder.
Usually, the game is played with two opponents facing off against each other in hopes of one winning. We played a version more like the ball and walls/room were on one team and that my hubby and I were on another. I tended to lob the ball against the wall after a double, triple, or quadruple bounce and then prayerfully cower as my husband would smash the daylights out of that little blue trajectile zooms leeringly at my head.
Did I mention that I had a lot of fun? Oh sure I am not ready for the olympics nor a real opponent but there is something satisfying about chasing down a specific target and then smacking it to smithereens watch it careen through the air and ricocheting off the ceiling and walls with intense but hilarious sound effects.
Like I mentioned before this game mimics a lot of what is going on in our daily lives. There is a lot of pursuit in our lives - being impressive at work, being available for our families, seeking out opportunities to serve at church and in the community, while still trying to better our future opportunities by chasing them down. We pray for moments where we can be a smashing success, make a little noise, and then walk away knowing we left everything on the court. But we need to be wise in our pursuits because nothing is more frustrating than chasing the wind. We think we are following God's will, we feel proud as we continue our noble pursuit, and then as we near the finish line we realized it was a mere illusion as the target appears to move further away always just inches beyond our grasp.
May your HealthFULL Journey lead you to pursue noble dreams and satisfying goals. But if you do find those moments you are chasing the wind may they be filled with humor, loving support, and nuggets of wisdom. 'Til we meet again. . .
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