Here's Pastor Dave McDowell's weekly devotional that he sends out to members of his church. Dave is my brother and serves as the Music Minister at Stewartstown UMC in PA..
Sometimes it only takes a moment,
or in other cases, ten minutes.
While I was in high school,
I had established a reputation as a musician.
I was often referred to as The Music Man.
I didn't necessarily mind that label,
but by my sophomore year,
I decided that I wanted to be known for more than music.
While music was my passion,
I also wanted a life filled with other things.
And so I chose sports........
track and field in particular.
I was determined to be known for something other than music.
On the first day of practice,
the coach told everyone but the pole vaulters
to go and run the cross county course.
In that moment, I decided that I was meant to be a pole vaulter,
which is curious, considering how I now love to run.
But for a sophomore who had never run very far,
pole vaulting seemed to be a pretty cool escape.
On days when everyone else would be running
to the point of exhaustion,
the team of vaulters would be working on our craft at the vaulting pit.
On less motivated days, we found that the pit
made for a warm napping mattress as it soaked up the spring sun.
It all sounded good until I actually tried to vault.
Have you ever tried to run with a 14 foot fiberglass pole,
then plant it into a metal box in the ground,
(I do not advise missing the box)
then push into the pole so that it would bend,
thus thrusting one up into the air
like some type of human bottle rocket?
There is something to be said for inverting one's head,
two feet above concrete.
Trust me,
there are somethings that you should never tell mother
upon your arrival home from school.
I wasn't very good that first year
((most vaulters aren't).
It takes time to learn the craft,
and time to overcome the fear.
I finally cleared 9 feet the first year.
By my junior year, I was far more motivated
By the end of the season I had jumped ten feet six inches,
three inches shy of our very modest school record.
As a senior, I was determined to break the record.
Instead of napping on the pit during warm spring days,
I worked on technique.
Working on upper body strength to drive the pole,
learning how to use my body as I vaulted skyward.
In the third meet of the season,
I tied the school record by vaulting ten feet, nine inches.
I received a host of high fives.
I was now more motivated than ever.
There were only three vaulters left in the competition.
The bar was set at eleven feet.
Each height is awarded three attempts.
One of the other vaulters fouled out.
On my second attempt,
I vaulted eleven feet.
There is nothing like receiving the praise from teammates,
or hearing your name over the stadium PA system.
David McDowell has just set a new school record of eleven feet in the pole vault!!!
If ESPN had existed at that time, I am sure they would have reported the event.
I was drunk with excitement.....
so overcome, that I bombed out on the next height.
I was so overcome, that I had not paid any attention to Him.
Him was the third vaulter.
Him was a sophomore vaulter who had just joined the team
He was thin and tall and very quiet.
And oh, yeah, Him's dad was a college vaulting coach,
and had coached the US Olympic team in Japan.
Him calmly bested my school record by three inches,
ten minutes after my moment of triumph.
There is nothing like hearing the following on the stadium PA system...
Him has just broken Dave McDowell's school record in the pole vault.
Him never looked back.
Him and his younger brother eventually would set county, district, and state records in the vault.
As for me,
I overcame my ten minutes of fame
and went on to a career in music.
Life can throw you things in the blink of an eye,
a car crash that comes out of nowhere,
a pregnancy announcement,
a revelation that the test came back positive for cancer,
news of a job promotion.
There are many Hims in our lives,
people or circumstances over which we have no control.
What we do have,
if we have received HIM as Lord
is assurance.
Assurance of life eternal, and in this life,
assurance that no matter how many Hims cross our path,
the one HIM that counts always walks with us.
"Behold, I am with you always,
even till the end of the age."
Matthew 28:20b
or in other cases, ten minutes.
While I was in high school,
I had established a reputation as a musician.
I was often referred to as The Music Man.
I didn't necessarily mind that label,
but by my sophomore year,
I decided that I wanted to be known for more than music.
While music was my passion,
I also wanted a life filled with other things.
And so I chose sports........
track and field in particular.
I was determined to be known for something other than music.
On the first day of practice,
the coach told everyone but the pole vaulters
to go and run the cross county course.
In that moment, I decided that I was meant to be a pole vaulter,
which is curious, considering how I now love to run.
But for a sophomore who had never run very far,
pole vaulting seemed to be a pretty cool escape.
On days when everyone else would be running
to the point of exhaustion,
the team of vaulters would be working on our craft at the vaulting pit.
On less motivated days, we found that the pit
made for a warm napping mattress as it soaked up the spring sun.
It all sounded good until I actually tried to vault.
Have you ever tried to run with a 14 foot fiberglass pole,
then plant it into a metal box in the ground,
(I do not advise missing the box)
then push into the pole so that it would bend,
thus thrusting one up into the air
like some type of human bottle rocket?
There is something to be said for inverting one's head,
two feet above concrete.
Trust me,
there are somethings that you should never tell mother
upon your arrival home from school.
I wasn't very good that first year
((most vaulters aren't).
It takes time to learn the craft,
and time to overcome the fear.
I finally cleared 9 feet the first year.
By my junior year, I was far more motivated
By the end of the season I had jumped ten feet six inches,
three inches shy of our very modest school record.
As a senior, I was determined to break the record.
Instead of napping on the pit during warm spring days,
I worked on technique.
Working on upper body strength to drive the pole,
learning how to use my body as I vaulted skyward.
In the third meet of the season,
I tied the school record by vaulting ten feet, nine inches.
I received a host of high fives.
I was now more motivated than ever.
There were only three vaulters left in the competition.
The bar was set at eleven feet.
Each height is awarded three attempts.
One of the other vaulters fouled out.
On my second attempt,
I vaulted eleven feet.
There is nothing like receiving the praise from teammates,
or hearing your name over the stadium PA system.
David McDowell has just set a new school record of eleven feet in the pole vault!!!
If ESPN had existed at that time, I am sure they would have reported the event.
I was drunk with excitement.....
so overcome, that I bombed out on the next height.
I was so overcome, that I had not paid any attention to Him.
Him was the third vaulter.
Him was a sophomore vaulter who had just joined the team
He was thin and tall and very quiet.
And oh, yeah, Him's dad was a college vaulting coach,
and had coached the US Olympic team in Japan.
Him calmly bested my school record by three inches,
ten minutes after my moment of triumph.
There is nothing like hearing the following on the stadium PA system...
Him has just broken Dave McDowell's school record in the pole vault.
Him never looked back.
Him and his younger brother eventually would set county, district, and state records in the vault.
As for me,
I overcame my ten minutes of fame
and went on to a career in music.
Life can throw you things in the blink of an eye,
a car crash that comes out of nowhere,
a pregnancy announcement,
a revelation that the test came back positive for cancer,
news of a job promotion.
There are many Hims in our lives,
people or circumstances over which we have no control.
What we do have,
if we have received HIM as Lord
is assurance.
Assurance of life eternal, and in this life,
assurance that no matter how many Hims cross our path,
the one HIM that counts always walks with us.
"Behold, I am with you always,
even till the end of the age."
Matthew 28:20b
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